Attorney General Fights to Keep Report Secret—-Wants Lawsuit Dismissed

Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter is pushing ahead with his fight to keep secret a State Auditor’s report on alleged wrongdoing by the Trust that handled buyouts at the Tar Creek Superfund site.

In a recent court filing in response to the lawsuit filed by Washington D.C.-based Campaign for Accountability, the attorney general said the report issued by Auditor Gary Jones in 2015 should continue to be closed to the public and a lawsuit be dismissed. It was two years ago when then Attorney General Scott Pruitt ordered the report withheld from the public.

When the Campaign for Accountability attempted to get a copy of the report, it was denied, prompting the organization to file suit (CV-2017-2335) in Oklahoma County district court.

“Disclosure of records created in response to an investigation initiated by the office of attorney general would undermine the state of Oklahoma’s ability to engage with confidential informants in uncovering and developing cases against people involved in such activities as fraud, bribery, public corruption, unlawful denials of access to housing or employment and similar efforts to the citizens of the state,” wrote Assistant Attorney General Lauren Ray in the filing in the lawsuit.

She continued, “The willingness of people to put themselves in danger of reprisal and retaliation for the greater good is something that must be protected by the state because the state benefits from those individual acts of courage.”

It would seem that the filing suggests someone with the Trust perhaps had either become an informant to either the Attorney General or the State Auditor. At least that appears to be the basis for the argument to keep the Auditor’s probe secret.

Auditor Gary Jones has always argued the report should be made public after he investigated reports of favoritism in the approval of construction bids in the Tar Creek Superfund site.

In response to the attorney general’s office, Jones asked the presiding judge in the lawsuit to make the records public. His response also indicated the audit report was previously revealed to the LICRA Trust attorney in 2014.

The Campaign  for Accountability executive director Daniel Stevens has argued the response by Jones “vindicates our position  and demonstrates why this audit should be released to the public immediately.

In the response by Jones, the court records also reflected that attorney Mickey Dodson at the State Auditor’s office in Tulsa is representing him.