Jury deliberating in trial against two former FirstEnergy CEOs
A jury has been sent to deliberate after hearing the second day of closing arguments in a case against two former FirstEnergy Corporation executives.
The Associated Press has reported on the ongoing trial in recent weeks.
The trial has called several witnesses to the stand to testify, including U.S. Senator Jon Husted, who testified remotely.
One topic that Husted discussed was a dinner between himself, Ohio's then-Governor-elect Mike DeWine and former FirstEnergy CEO Chuck Jones and former lobbyist Michael Dowling in 2018.
Husted, during testimony, says that he was unaware that Jones and Dowling would be meeting with DeWine's choice to lead the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO), Sam Randazzo, after the dinner.
Jones and Dowling, according to reports from the Associated Press, are accused of bribing Randazzo, who died by suicide in 2024 while facing federal and state charges for bribery, with millions of dollars in exchange for "legislative and regulatory favors."
When asked about the subject of the dinner Husted had with Dowling and Jones, he said that he didn't remember the specifics of the conversations, but he did believe that "...FirstEnergy was going to be in town and they wanted to say 'hi' and congratulate us on winning," said Husted.
DeWine later appointed Randazzo to the PUCO chair position after the dinner.
Husted said that Randazzo was not FirstEnergy's "preferred candidate" to fill the seat.
Evidence shows that DeWine, Husted, Jones and Dowling were joined during the dinner by Josh Rubin, a FirstEnergy lobbyist and adviser to the 2018 DeWine-Husted campaign.
Rubin allegedly has provided advice to Dowling and Jones on how to lobby DeWine "in favor of the company's preferences to chair the PUCO."
Husted and DeWine have not been accused of any wrongdoing.
