FILE - Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine speaks during a news conference, Dec. 29, 2023, in Columbus, Ohio. DeWine parted ways with Donald Trump on Monday, March 11, 2024, and endorsed state Sen. Matt Dolan over Trump-backed businessman Bernie Moreno in the state’s three-way GOP primary for a U.S. Senate seat. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
XENIA — Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has been connected with text conversations involving FirstEnergy then-CEO Chuck Jones in regards to fundraising requests, according to a Cleveland.com report.
The report states that DeWine exchanged messages with Jones during his 2018 election campaign, asking for Jones to call him. It states that three days later Jones and the company’s then-senior vice president Mike Dowling agreed to make a contribution that was “dark money” in the sum of $500,000 to DeWine’s Republican Governor’s Association group.
The text messages were obtained through evidence collecting procedures by the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel via a public records request made by Cleveland.com.
During a speaking event in April, DeWine said he was not aware of any contributions made by FirstEnergy to his 2018 campaign.
Jones and Dowling were indicted on bribery charges in February of 2024.
