FirstEnergy Gave Secret $1 Million To Ohio Lt. Gov. Campaign in Scandal

"Records show Jon Husted worked behind the scenes to bail out the company’s nuclear power plants. The million dollar donation was secret — until now."

"A surge in FirstEnergy political spending ahead of the utility’s push to secure a legislative bailout for its nuclear power plants included a $1 million dark money contribution to support the campaign of Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s eventual running mate.

The previously unreported gift linked to Lt. Gov. Jon Husted’s 2017 primary bid was revealed as part of a raft of documents obtained under Ohio’s public records law by a coalition of news organizations, including Floodlight, Energy News Network and the Ohio Capital Journal.

Among the documents are company emails describing behind-the-scenes efforts by Husted to persuade DeWine to support House Bill 6, the utility-backed legislation at the heart of the state’s ongoing $60 million public bribery scandal.

Neither Husted nor DeWine, whose campaign also benefited from a previously reported $1 million in dark money from the utility, has been implicated in the scheme in which eight people, including the state’s former House Speaker Larry Householder, have been indicted."

Kathiann M. Kowalski reports for Energy News Network and Mario Alejandro Ariza reports for Floodlight April 10, 2024.

Source: Floodlight/Energy News Network, 04/11/2024