Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH) reportedly made arrangements not to have to fly home to Ohio to testify in a major public corruption trial, with legal counsel suggesting his presence in D.C. was necessary due to the war in Iran — but then he flew home anyway, to attend a political fundraiser.
According to News 5 Cleveland, "the senator's testimony won't be at the Summit County Court of Common Pleas. It will be hundreds of miles away," with the defense attorney for FirstEnergy Vice President Mike Dowling telling the court, "Given the war, his availability is not great. We have spoken with his counsel... Given everything that's going on in the world, we don't feel that he can or should insist upon him leaving his post in Washington DC right now."
But per the report, Husted, "who doesn't sit on any committees related to safety, military or foreign affairs," was soon spotted in a security line at Reagan National Airport in D.C., then was spotted later that day walking in John Glenn Columbus International Airport. He rebuffed questions from both people who saw him about the FirstEnergy case.
According to the report, it turns out "that the senator is set to attend a fundraiser on Friday. Husted is the keynote speaker at the Greene County Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinner, where tickets were up to $1,000." The campaign then clarified that the war was not the issue with testifying in person at trial, and there were simply other scheduling conflicts.
The news generated outrage, with state Sen. Casey Weinstein saying, "[He should] explain to Ohioans what he means by unavailable or dealing with the war, if he's in fact here in the state raising money for his embattled Senate campaign. It's despicable, and I can't think of a more significant breach of trust."
The FirstEnergy corruption scandal has spanned several years, with multiple executives and Ohio politicians implicated and charged with crimes. In essence, FirstEnergy, a utility company, paid bribes to politicians, including former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, in exchange for passage of a bill that would authorize a $1.3 billion bailout of the utility's failing nuclear plants.
Husted, who is currently facing a tough election fight against former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, has not been directly accused of a crime in the FirstEnergy case, but he was lieutenant governor at the time the deals unfolded, and, News 5 Cleveland said, Husted "worked closely" with FirstEnergy "to pass H.B. 6 in 2019, after they helped fund his campaign."