The only two individuals who have stood trial for their role in the largest utility corruption scandal in Ohio’s history have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review their cases and reverse their convictions.

If the court accepts their case and ultimately rules in favor of the defendants, it would also likely affect two former FirstEnergy Corp. officials currently facing criminal charges in federal court as part of the multiyear House Bill 6 bailout scheme.

Such a precedent could have implications far beyond the state — and beyond the utility sector, too.

A win for the defendants could thwart any attempt to bring criminal charges against other individuals or companies that make large campaign contributions to a federal or state candidate in return for official action, such as awards of government contracts or preferred access to natural resources.

As part of the HB 6 saga, FirstEnergy and its affiliates funneled approximately $60 million through dark money groups to the tax-exempt organization Generation Now, which acted in coordination with Larry Householder’s official campaign to win reelection to the Ohio House of Representatives in 2018 and become speaker in 2019. In return, Householder used his power as speaker to push through a 2019 law to bail out two nuclear plants and two coal plants. Householder, lobbyist Matt Borges, and others then spent millions more of the FirstEnergy companies’ money to block a referendum effort to wipe out the law.

In sum, the scandal has cost Ohio ratepayers approximately half a billion dollars and delayed the state’s energy transition by gutting standards for energy efficiency and renewables and subsidizing the two 1950s-era coal plants.

A questionable appeal

Federal agents arrested Householder, Borges, and three others in July 2020, and the government charged them with violating the federal Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO. Although two individuals and Generation Now entered into plea deals and another defendant died, Householder and Borges went to trial. Jurors found them guilty in March 2023. That June, U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Black sentenced Householder to 20 years in prison. Borges received a five-year sentence.

FirstEnergy admitted its criminal liability in a 2021 court filing. Two of its former executives now face criminal charges in both federal and state courts, with the trial on the state charges set to start late this month. Meanwhile, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld both Borges’ and Householder’s convictions.

In petitions filed December 22, both convicted felons ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review their cases. Householder basically argues that the First Amendment protects companies giving money to candidates, and maintains that he can’t be criminally liable because his actions in connection with HB 6 carried out a campaign promise to FirstEnergy.

“That FirstEnergy had expectations attendant to the millions of dollars they donated to Householder’s 501(c)(4) is echoed by millions of Americans who make far more modest contributions to candidates — but who also expect that their candidate will come through for them,” the petition states. Letting the convictions stand would chill ​”the free exchange of ideas that the First Amendment protects, particularly in the arena of political speech,” it adds.

Borges makes similar arguments and then says that if Householder can’t be criminally liable, then neither can Borges be guilty of a criminal conspiracy under RICO.

The Department of Justice currently has until January 28 to respond to the defendants’ petitions. Four yes votes will be required from the sitting justices for the full court to hear the case.

Neither of the petitions notes that FirstEnergy’s contributions and any promises made by Householder were all secret. Money went through groups that don’t have to publicly report their donors. And Householder did not publicize an intent to push through a nuclear and coal bailout law that would have cost Ohioans more than $1 billion if all parts of it had gone into effect.

The petitions also gloss over the fact that Generation Now needed to avoid coordination with Householder’s campaign in order to avoid federal reporting and campaign finance limits, under the Supreme Court’s infamous Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission decision. Evidence at trial also showed that Householder spent some of the money for his personal benefit.

Although review of the cases is discretionary, the defendants’ arguments are already raising ire among some critics.

“Householder and Borges lamely suggest their political bribery, for which a jury of their peers found them guilty, should be excused because corruption ​’happens every day.’ They hope the Supreme Court will turn a blind eye to bribery,” said Dick Munson, a former lobbyist for the Environmental Defense Fund who examined the HB 6 cases and other utility scandals in his 2025 book.

Yet several decisions by the Supreme Court under the leadership of Chief Justice John Roberts have already weakened federal law on corruption.

After the Citizens United case paved the way for companies to give unlimited amounts to organizations that don’t have to publicly report their donors, those organizations became ripe for use in concealing the true purpose of funds. David DeVillers, former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, called the case against Householder, Borges, and the others ​”likely the largest bribery money-laundering scheme ever perpetrated against the people of the state of Ohio.”

Ashley Brown, a former commissioner of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio who was the founding executive director of the Harvard Electricity Policy Group, also noted a more recent trend of the current Supreme Court ​”to just completely disregard findings of fact in the lower courts, casually casting them aside in order to make what I regard as policy, or perhaps simply partisan, statements.”

Consequently, he said, ​”what may appear to be a slam dunk in the Householder case to most of us may be seen quite differently by the SCOTUS majority.”

Original story can be found at https://ohiocapitaljournal.com