Two days before House Bill 6 landed at the Ohio Statehouse, Sen. Jon Husted had a scheduled meeting with Sam Randazzo, according to entries in Husted’s 2019 calendar. Randazzo, the former chair of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, has been accused by prosecutors of helping draft and push the scandal-tainted bailout bill. He died by suicide in 2024 after pleading not guilty. Two former FirstEnergy executives are now on trial in Summit County in connection with the alleged scheme, and Husted has not been accused of wrongdoing.
A public records request unearthed Husted’s 2019 calendar, which shows the meeting with Randazzo set just 48 hours before H.B. 6 was introduced, according to News 5 Cleveland. During opening statements in the criminal trial, defense attorney Steven Grimes told jurors that Randazzo “had access to Jon Husted,” the outlet reports. News 5 Cleveland also ties the calendar entries to previously obtained text messages and call-log records now being picked over in court by both prosecutors and defense lawyers.
Opening Arguments and the Money Trail
Prosecutors told jurors that FirstEnergy paid $4.3 million connected to Randazzo and poured roughly $61 million into political spending tied to H.B. 6, as reported by Ohio Capital Journal. The state argues those payments and that cash blitz helped secure a billion-dollar bailout for the company’s nuclear plants, and that emails, calls, and other communications among executives, lobbyists, and regulators will show that was the plan all along. Defense attorneys counter that the $4.3 million was a legitimate settlement related to Randazzo’s former clients and insist that, if anything improper happened, it was Randazzo acting on his own.
What Husted's Calendar Could Mean
Husted is listed among the defense’s potential witnesses and could be called to walk jurors through the timing and substance of his meetings, according to News 5 Cleveland. Being on a witness list, of course, is not the same as being accused of a crime, and Husted’s team has told reporters he was not part of any bribery scheme. In court, defense lawyers describe the meetings as routine policy talks with a key regulator, while prosecutors say the pattern of contacts will help them sketch a coordinated push to shape energy policy in FirstEnergy’s favor.
What's Next
The trial is expected to run for several weeks as jurors sift through records, texts, and witness testimony that prosecutors say will map out how H.B. 6 and the related political spending came together, per Ohio Capital Journal. Hoodline has previously broken down the early stages of the case. See our background piece on how the HB 6 scandal exploded for more context on the players and the law at the center of the controversy. As more documents surface and witnesses take the stand, the emerging narrative could either narrow or expand questions around Husted’s role in the months leading up to H.B. 6’s debut.
