Veterans’ Group Suing Gov. Stitt Claims His Panel Appointment Violated Law

A group of veterans who filed suit over Governor Stitt's appointment to the Oklahoma Veterans Commission said the governor violated the law with an appointment to the panel. 

"He just picked one of his boys and put him in there," veteran Larry Van Schuyver said. 

The veterans’ attorney Mark Hammons said it was filled with signs of Stitt’s wrongful appointment of Robert Allen, Jr. 

"He is trying to use a technical provision, a filling of an audit, that has never been used or never been required," Hammons said.  

Last month, the Oklahoma Military Order of the Purple Heart filed a lawsuit against Allen. The suit claims Allen was “unlawfully appointed” to the Oklahoma Veterans Commission without the consent of the MOPH. 

Allen wasn't on the group's list for the governor to choose from.   

According to state law, the governor can appoint someone but only if the organization fails to submit an audit. 

"They are throwing every mud at us they can throw at us, saying, ‘We didn't do an audit,’ but no one knows what the heck this audit is," Van Schuyver said. 

"The governor was thrilled to appoint lifetime MOPH member Robert Allen, a brave combat veteran who served two tours in Iraq and survived wounds due to direct enemy fire, to serve on the Oklahoma Veterans Commission," Gov. Stitt’s office said in a statement to News 9. 

A judge is now asking for further briefings. Hammons said those briefings will be turned over to the judge by Sept. 19.