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Over 60 names – some familiar – are on a potential witness list for the state House Bill 6 trial

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (Statehouse News Bureau) — More than 60 names are on the potential witness list for the state in the House Bill 6 trial of former Public Utilities Commission chair Sam Randazzo and former FirstEnergy executives Chuck Jones and Michael Dowling.

Mug shots of Chuck Jones, Michael Dowling and Sam Randazzo
Mug shots of Chuck Jones, Michael Dowling and Sam Randazzo after they turned themselves into the Summit County Sheriff’s office in February 2024. [Summit County Sheriff’s Office]
The list for the trial filed with the Summit County Clerk of Courts includes some people featured in the federal trial of Republican former House Speaker Larry Householder, convicted last year in the corruption scandal surrounding House Bill 6, the billion-dollar nuclear power plant bailout that benefited FirstEnergy.

The potential witness list does not include Gov. Mike DeWine or Lt. Gov. Jon Husted. But it does include top DeWine adviser Laurel Dawson, his former chief of staff who records show knew but didn’t tell DeWine about a $4.3 million payment from FirstEnergy to Randazzo – which the state alleges is a bribe.

FirstEnergy CEO Brian Tierney, who joined the company last June, is listed, as are several former lobbyists such as Josh Rubin, who DeWine appointed as chair of JobsOhio.

Three PUCO commissioners, including chair Jenifer French, and three former commissioners, including former chair Asim Haque are on it, along with Consumers’ Counsel Maureen Willis and Legislative Inspector General Tony Bledsoe.

Also on the list are three Republican former state representatives. That trio includes former Speaker Bob Cupp, who took over after Householder was removed as speaker in 2020 following his arrest on federal charges. Juan Cespedes and Jeff Longstreth, who testified against Householder, are also on the list.

No trial date has been set.

Randazzo is also facing federal corruption charges, before the same judge who presided over the Householder and Borges trials. Randazzo pleaded not guilty in December, and no trial date has been set in that case either.