Investigation Planned Into Harassment, Settlement Claims Against OK State Rep.

In a rare bi-partisan agreement, members of both the Democratic and Republican parties called for an investigation into the sexual harassment and settlement allegations surrounding Rep. Dan Kirby (R-Tulsa).

Kirby, 58, was accused by a former legislative assistant, Hollie Bishop, 28, of sexually harassing her and then firing her after she refused his advances and reported them to Human Resources, according to a letter sent by Bishop’s lawyers to the House. In all, records show the claim was settled with a payment of $44,500.

The Speaker-elect for the Oklahoma House of Representatives, Charles McCall, announced Thursday that his first action as Speaker would be to investigate.

In a press release issued Thursday morning, McCall states he will authorize the bipartisan House Rules Committee to begin investigating the wrongful termination settlement agreement paid to Bishop in November in two separate payments, using House funds.

Kirby initially resigned on Dec. 23 amid the allegations, but on Wednesday rescinded his resignation, stating, his attempted resignation did not conform with state law. In a letter, Kirby wrote:

After speaking with my family and friends, I sent a letter rescinding my resignation so that I might have an opportunity to clear my name and complete my term. When I was wrongfully accused of sexual harassment, I was told that I should refrain from making any statements to the media. I followed that advice under the assumption that I would be able to deny the allegations at some point in the future. On December 21, 2016, I found out that the claim against the Oklahoma House of Representatives had been settled without my knowledge or consent when I read an article in the Oklahoman newspaper. I have never seen the settlement agreement nor do I have any knowledge of the terms contained in the settlement agreement. I would like to make it clear that the allegations of sexual harassment are untrue and I had no role in settling the claims made against the Oklahoma House of Representatives. 

The press release issued by McCall’s office goes on to say of the impending investigation:

The committee will begin meeting in January and will have “special authority” to investigate that settlement, the allegations that led to the settlement and the House process for dealing with allegations of sexual harassment. In addition, the committee will review the authority of the House to use operational funds to settle claims and will also review all prior sexual harassment allegations against current House members.

According to the release, all findings will be made public and action could be taken against any lawmaker implicated during the investigation.

“There is simply no excuse for sexual harassment by lawmakers at the Capitol,” said McCall, R-Atoka. “The House of Representatives should be a safe and professional place to work, free of any form of discrimination or harassment. Voters have given us the privilege of representing them, and it is a high honor with special duties attached. Workplace misconduct by lawmakers will simply not be tolerated under my leadership.”

Earlier on Thursday, State Democrats held a press conference on Kirby and called for the investigation. They also spoke of a possible civil or criminal lawsuit. 

“The tax payers deserve to know how this money was spent and who approved it and whether the settlement was even legal in the first place,” Rep. Emily Virgin (D-Norman) said.

Democratic Part Chairman mark Hammons said his party is willing to wait several days for more information to be release but also said they were thinking about bringing a civil lawsuit or the possibility a criminal investigation if they don't get answers.

Hammons alleged there were other players in the claim besides Kirby and Bishop, mentioning one of the payments was filed under “maintenance.” Records obtained by News9 show they were actually filed under “housekeeping.”

“There are people that made calculated decisions and it looks like every one of those calculated decisions was to keep people in the dark,” he said. McCall’s office said last week the payment’s filing was a clerical error, saying there was no cover-up.

Hammons also pressed for outside eyes to investigate specifically saying Attorney General Scott Pruitt, State Auditor Gary Jones and the Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater all have a duty to investigate.

So far, the Attorney General's office says it has not been asked to investigate, neither has the State Auditor. Prater could not be reached for comment.

Former Speaker Jeff Hickman (R-Fairview), who approved the payment, said he’s confident that this was all handled properly. He said Kirby's decision to resign was based on very good advice but is not sure that his decision to rescind that was based on good advice. Hickman maintained settling out of court saved thousands of dollars.

He added both Pruitt and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigated the claims and found no wrong doing.

Investigations aside lawmakers also called for more transparency between the two parties and maybe the possibility of opening the legislature to Freedom of Information requests.

“We do need to file some legislation and some of that legislation of applying the open records act, the open meeting act,” R Rep. David Perryman (D-Chickasha) said during the press conference.

Right now, lawmakers aren't subject to Freedom of Information laws, meaning documents and records can be kept secret, purposefully withheld from voters. Something Democrats say could hurt Oklahomans in the end.

“When you have a void of checks and balances in a legislature. There's not a lot under the current rules that can be done to check the power of the majority,” Perryman said.