Sunday, January 29, 2017

Not By A Long Shot!



DID THE SEXUAL HARASSMENT CASE END WITH THE RESIGNATION OF THE REPRESENTATIVE INVOLVED?
 NOT BY A LONG SHOT!
The Watchman
*Editors note:  This story is a bit dated as it was written a month ago and updated for the second accusations against Kirby.  However it serves as a great recap to remind everyone of the basics of the scandal so we are publishing it.

  Well folks our legislature has managed to make Oklahoma the laughing stock of the nation again. If you were to believe the story being told, the offending legislator knew nothing of the settlement. We find that hard to swallow. Not only is that hard to believe, but a now out of office term limited individual is claiming responsibility for the cover-up. It gets worse from this point. Not only did they cover it up, but they used tax payers dollars to do so. Considering the way the government just blows through money these days we feel confident that they didn't think a mere forty-four thousand five hundred dollars ($44,500.00) would be missed. Well it was. We feel confident in saying there isn't a school district out there that wouldn't have enjoyed that money so they could hire an additional teacher.

  We began our research by going to the offender official web site at www.ok.gov here Representative Dan Kirby - Oklahoma House of Representatives . There was nothing out of the ordinary here except that he listed two daughters but no wife. We are sure he has his reasons and won't pry into them as they have no bearing on this article.

The next article of interest we found was this Dan Kirby - Ballotpedia. This article shows the election results for his entire political career as well as his committee appointments during his career. It also contains some contributor information. No names are listed but it does show you the amount received by his campaign.

Now what brought our attention to this problem was this article Inman Questions Kirby Settlement Payments | The McCarville Report. This report raises a very valid question. We know the amount paid to the plaintiff and her attorney to settle this, but what hasn't been made available is the amount paid to the House's outside legal counsel was paid. We would urge you to open the link and read the article yourself. There are several other questions raised that are all very valid.

The next report of interest we found was this Former Oklahoma House speaker approved settlement in sexual harassment case | News OK. This story indicates that the former Speaker of the House, Jeff Hickman, authorized this settlement. Why? Was he trying to save a friend some embarrassment? Nobody but Mr. Hickman and the House Council knows.

The next article that caught our attention was this. Claim of harassment - Tulsa World: Tulsa World: Tulsa News, Sports, Weather, Business & Entertainment. If you don't open any other link in this article you must open this. This is the letter from the plaintiff to the State of Oklahoma, Oklahoma Attorney General's Office and the Oklahoma House of Representatives. What it states is that this is a notice of claim against the state for sexual harassment by Representative Dan Kirby.

Now we know that certain groups in this state want to move the political stance more to the left than it currently is. Fortunately there are good people out there who call foul when they see it. The House Democrat Leader made such a call. You can see it here House Democratic leaders ask incoming Republican Speaker of the House Charles McCall to answer questions about the Kirby sexua. He actually is correct in bringing this to light. Why should Oklahoma Tax Payer money be spent to protect and payoff the people that some over sexed House member gets himself into hot water for? We shouldn't. These settlement agreements should have been financed from Mr. Kirby's own pocket not the state coffers.

Then this was released by the Oklahoma Democratic Party RELEASE: Oklahoma House Quietly Settles Sexual Harassment Claim Using House Funds – Oklahoma Democratic Party. They have every right to be upset about this event. In fact we urge you to open the link and read the article for yourself. There are implications here that this settlement agreement may have broken the law. We did some checking on that and will report on it shortly.

Sexual harassment tort against Okla. Republican settled in secret - NY Daily News. You'll need to read this section for yourself; we feel that yes the law was broken. That explains the curious almost repeated declaration in most of the articles from the lame stream media. That saying almost always says that Dan Kirby knew nothing about the settlement. We are finding that hard to believe.

This is by far one of the best articles we found on the subject House Democratic leaders ask incoming Republican Speaker of the House Charles McCall to answer questions about the Kirby sexua. This article asks twenty-one questions that we need to know about the complaint. We do know that the plaintiff did go to Human Resources with her complaint and asked for a re-assignment. She was not given the transfer. We also know that the state government has illegally payed to settle this case with tax dollars. Maybe if we could get someone up in the State House to familiarize themselves with the State Constitution we wouldn't have this problem.

One would think that with a liberal media out there that instead of doing business behind closed doors, they would make them transparent. We know that our lawmakers weren't trying to keep things from the Citizens they are supposed to work for, but the news made it to the national papers as you can see here
Oklahoma Legislature used taxpayer dollars to settle GOP Rep's sexual harassment complaint in secret This has made our state a laughing stock to the rest of the country. It wasn't enough for them to perpetuate the standing of the most corrupt state in the nation. They just had to make it worse.

The next article of interest we found was this State funds used to settlement sexual harassment complaint against Oklahoma lawmaker | FOX23. This is more verification of the violation of state law by the former Speaker of the House as well as anyone else connected to this case including the House Legal Counsel. Maybe the Oklahoma Bar Association should look into this and possibly reprimand the Legal Counsel for giving advise that violated the law?

The next article of interest we found was this The Latest: Oklahoma lawmaker in harassment case resigns - News9.com - Oklahoma City, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports |. This is the first hint we had of the resignation of the offender. His letter to the incoming Speaker makes him sound like an honorable and noble man who is doing it for the people of his district. Somehow we just can't see it that way. We see it as an attempt to avoid an investigation into the payoff.

Included in this story is a statement from the Attorney's for the Oklahoma House. They are claiming again that Mr. Kirby had nothing to do with this settlement. We ask that if they are so good at their job, then how they allowed the former Speaker and anyone else involved in this decision make the payout. That only makes the firm culpable for conspiracy to defraud the state.

The next article we found was this OK Rep. Accused Of Using State Funds To Settle Harassment Claim - NewsOn6.com - Tulsa, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports -. Once again this demonstrates the repeated assumption that Mr. Kirby knew nothing about the payoff of the victim and her attorney for their silence. This reeks of cover-up. What exactly is it they are hiding? We are entitled to know. After all it was our tax dollars they spent.

The next article of interest we found was this Oklahoma Rep. Dan Kirby announces resignation after sexual harassment allegations | KFOR.com. He did the right thing here although it was a little late. He should have withdrawn from the race for the seat in his district before the election.


The next article of interest we found was this Sexual harassment complaint against Oklahoma legislator settled in secret | News OK. Why did this need to be done in secret? What else are they hiding from the people of the State of Oklahoma? They must be some of the most arrogant people in the state just because they can pass a law that changes a few words to an existing law just so they can leave their mark on state history. They seem to forget the old saying "Absolute power corrupts absolutely."

The next article we found was this Rep. Dan Kirby silent on sexual harassment accusation as activist calls for his resignation - Tulsa World: Government. The word had already gotten out about the sexual harassment law suit, what did he have to hide. We already know the individual involved went to Human Resources and asked for reassignment and it was ignored. She was fired instead. He waited a few days to announce his resignation and said it was to spend more time with his family. That's the polite way of saying I screwed up and need to make amends to my family.

The next article we found seemed appropriate for this article An example of why pursuit of government transparency matters | News OK. We urge you to open this link and read the article for yourself. This is the best article we've seen to date for the passing of anti-corruption laws in the state of Oklahoma. This article points out that most of the legislators didn't even know about the complaint or the settlement. That would qualify this payout as misappropriation of government funds. That may be why they appear so adamant about claiming Mr. Kirby knew nothing about this. How many more times has this happened and they just never got caught?

Then on Wednesday we got this in our news feed Report. Kirby Rescinds Resignation | The McCarville Report. Here's a man who claims to know nothing about a settlement made on his behalf to silence a sexual harassment complaint who wants to sponge out of the coffers of the state again. There is no mention of paying the state of Oklahoma back for the funds it took to pay off his crime either.

To verify the first report we found this Oklahoma representative accused of sexual harassment rescinds resignation | KFOR.com. What are we running up there a gentleman's club? This cannot be allowed to stand. If this man who claims to be a Representative of the people is allowed to take his seat in the next legislature, than we will know why Oklahoma is rated the most corrupt state in the union. Mr. Kirby doesn't bring any more shame to this state than you already have.

That was not to be. The next article of interest we found was this http://www.soonerpolitics.org/editorial/kirby-investigation-widens-2nd-accuser-emerges. This is a second report of another employee that had the same problem with Mr. Kirby. She also went to the Human Services Department and was moved. This report does raise a few questions. We find it strange that both of the young ladies involved happen to have the same attorney. We find it rather disturbing that both of these young ladies went to what amounted to the Personnel Department and received such different results. This reeks of cronyism in the department. It is the opinion of this staff that the ethics committee of the Oklahoma State House of Representatives is incapable of giving this subject a fair and impartial investigation. We feel that the investigation of this matter should be turned over to the OSBI and the Oklahoma State Attorney General.

If he is allowed to sit in the Chamber of the House, he should be stripped of all assignments to all committees and any pay he would be scheduled to receive should be forfeited until such time as the funds utilized to pay off his pending law suit are repaid.

We are left with little choice but to ask the Attorney General's office to investigate this criminal act that comes close to violating the RICO Act. We also ask that the Oklahoma State Auditor audit the books of the House of Representatives and the Senate to see if any other such improprieties have occurred. We demand that the funds used to settle this case be repaid in full by Mr. Kirby, Mr. Hickman and any other people involved in the theft of the people's funds.

The next article of interest we found was this http://www.muskogeepolitico.com/2017/01/rep-kirby-should-resign-or-be-expelled.html?m=1. We are in full agreement with Muskogeepolitico.com. Rep. Kirby should resign or be expelled from the House of Representatives. We find the actions of an individual with a degree in Theology to be abhorrent to the senses of any decent human being.

We are sadly disappointed by the silence of the Minority Leader of the House and his silence over the revelation of the second complaint. We can't help but wonder why? Could it be because there is a member of his party that has recently come under scrutiny, or is it because he feels that the Speaker of the House has taken the appropriate action. We would like to know.

The next article of interest we found was this http://www.soonerpolitics.org/editorial/kirby-suspended-from-chairmanship-of-commerce-committee. This is a step in the right direction, but it's not enough. We understand that the investigation is ongoing. We also understand that certain actions cannot be taken without the approval of the full House while it is in Session. We trust that action will be swift and immediate. This man has no business sitting in any committee or even voting on any proposed law that would affect the lives of the citizens of Oklahoma. Unless an independent investigation proves this man innocent, he is morally bankrupt and has proven to be an example of what is wrong with politics and politicians in America today. He should resign and allow someone more ethical to set an example take his seat.

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