FirstEnergy gave heavily to Trump and Trump worked for a federal bailout, report says

As it sought a massive, corrupt bailout in Ohio, Akron-based FirstEnergy also spent lavishly on Trump-aligned dark money groups and at hotels and golf courses owned by the former president, a new report said this week.

Trump and his aides wanted to provide a federal bailout for the company’s coal and nuclear plants, but they hit a brick wall — first in the form of a regulator, and then by public opposition to corporate bailouts, the report said.

Done by the Energy and Policy Institute, the report is a deep dive into otherwise-secret records that have been pried out as a result of prosecutions and litigation around the Ohio bailout scandal. Called one of the biggest bribery scandals in Ohio history, FirstEnergy funneled $61 million through dark money groups to pass a $1.3 billion ratepayer bailout through the state’s gerrymandered legislature and then protect it from popular opposition.

Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder is serving a 20-year federal prison sentence as a consequence of his involvement, former state Republican Party Chair Matt Borges is serving five years and two others have pleaded guilty and await sentencing. Two others were charged and then died by suicide.



https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2024/10/11/firstenergy-gave-heavily-to-trump-and-trump-worked-for-a-federal-bailout-report-says/