FirstEnergy gave $1M donation through dark money group to back Jon Husted, records show

As Akron-based FirstEnergy was shoring up political support to bail out two nuclear plants, it gave $1 million through a dark money group to back Jon Husted, a Republican running for governor in 2017, according to an internal FirstEnergy email.

The $1 million flowed from FirstEnergy through Freedom Frontier, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit that does not disclose its donors, according to an email detailing FirstEnergy's 2017 political contributions released via a public records request. The money was earmarked for the "Husted campaign," according to the spreadsheet of donations.

A Husted spokeswoman responded: "The Husted campaign never received this donation and is not affiliated with any of these groups."

Freedom Frontier is a dark money group connected to a former Vice President Mike Pence aide that spent money in multiple political campaigns, according to dark money watchdog Citizens for Responsibility & Ethics in Washington or CREW.

Freedom Frontier reported giving $121,109 to Ohio Conservatives for a Change, a federal super PAC backing Husted's bid for governor, on its 2017 tax forms; it did not file a 2018 form. Ohio Conservatives for a Change reported it received $1.08 million in donations from Freedom Frontier between January 2018 and October 2018, according to Federal Election Commission records.

FirstEnergy, through a spokeswoman, declined to answer questions about the donation "due to ongoing litigation."

FirstEnergy political spending in 2017 by Jessie Balmert on Scribd

The email detailing 2017 contributions was provided via a records request to the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau. The USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, Floodlight, Ohio Capital Journal and the Energy News Network also received records from the Ohio Consumers' Counsel and Public Utilities Commission of Ohio.

Husted ultimately dropped out of the governor's race and joined challenger Mike DeWine's ticket in November 2017. Together, they won the GOP primary and later the November 2018 election.

Around this time, FirstEnergy was trying to bail out two nuclear plants it owned in northern Ohio. But the company kept hitting brick walls at the Ohio Statehouse and in Washington, D.C.

At the time, Gov. John Kasich and House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger, both Republicans, weren't fond of charging Ohio's electric customers to subsidize the plants.

FirstEnergy needed new leadership to accomplish its goals. So the company contributed $1 million in 2017 to Generation Now, a dark money group backing Rep. Larry Householder's bid to replace Rosenberger as Ohio speaker of the House. The money started flowing after Householder met with FirstEnergy executives in Washington, D.C., for then-President Donald Trump's inauguration in early 2017.

FirstEnergy dramatically increased its spending on "dark money groups" between 2016 and 2017, according to the spreadsheet. These groups don't have to disclose their donors. In addition to the $1 million each earmarked to support Householder and Husted, there was a $5 million donation to America First Policy, which backed former President Donald Trump's agenda.

FirstEnergy leaders also asked candidates for governor to commit to keeping the nuclear plants open. An email from FirstEnergy's Senior Vice President of External Affairs Michael Dowling indicates DeWine and Husted's 2018 primary challengers Mary Taylor, then-lieutenant governor, and Jim Renacci, a former congressman, supported the plants.

"Jon Husted called me to say he was meeting with DeWine on our issue to try and get him aligned to help keep the plants open," FirstEnergy lobbyist Joel Bailey wrote to Dowling in a December 2017 email.

Husted's history with FirstEnergy

Husted's history with FirstEnergy goes back decades even though he lived near Dayton, about 200 miles from the company's Akron headquarters.

As speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives between 2005 and 2009, Husted backed policies that benefited utilities and blocked efforts to eliminate side deals between the companies and large industrial users.

FirstEnergy's PAC contributed about $50,000 to Husted's campaigns between 2000 and 2016, according to Ohio campaign finance records.

And Husted was generous with his time, speaking with Ohio Edison employees in February 2018. “This will be a good experience for our team, and it is a very gracious gesture by Jon,” FirstEnergy lobbyist Ty Pine wrote in an email.

In July 2018, DeWine and Husted toured the Davis-Besse nuclear power plant and committed to keeping it open. DeWine said in a statement released after the visit: "Nuclear power provides a valuable clean, reliable source of energy and should remain an important part of Ohio’s energy future." Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rich Cordray also pledged to keep the plant open, the Sandusky Register reported.

Passing House Bill 6

In 2019, Householder won control of the Ohio House of Representatives and championed House Bill 6, an energy overhaul that included a $1 billion bailout for FirstEnergy Solutions' two nuclear plants.

As that bill worked its way through the Legislature, FirstEnergy executives saw Husted as an ally in its quest to score a larger subsidy, previously released text messages showed. Dowling called Husted "highly engaged" in a text message to then-FirstEnergy CEO Chuck Jones. And Jones described Husted as "fighting to the end" for more years on the nuclear bailout.

House Bill 6 passed and DeWine signed it within hours of it hitting his desk.

About a year later, Householder and four others were charged in connection with a massive pay-to-play involving FirstEnergy and House Bill 6. Householder was later sentenced to 20 years in prison for orchestrating the scheme.

Husted and DeWine have not been charged with any crime in federal or state court related to the pay-to-play scandal. Both say they supported the underlying policy for House Bill 6 − to save the plants and jobs − but did not cross any lines.

Attorneys representing shareholders who sued over the nuclear bailout scandal sought to depose Husted. They also subpoenaed records from DeWine.

Jessie Balmert is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

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This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: FirstEnergy gave $1M through dark money group to back 'Husted campaign'