From Scott Inman
A list of questions about the payments made to settle a sexual harassment complaint against state Rep. Dan Kirby was delivered Friday morning to House Speaker-elect Charles McCall by House Democratic Leader Scott Inman.
Records indicate $44,500 in House of Representatives funds were used to settle a sexual harassment complaint filed against Kirby, 58, R-Tulsa, by his former legislative assistant, Hollie Anne Bishop, 28. Ms. Bishop was paid $28,414.20 via an invoice marked under “Legal Settlements,” KWTV-9 reported today. Ms. Bishop’s Edmond attorneys received a $16,085.80 payment via an invoice that was filed under housekeeping and cleaning supplies, KWTV reported.
It is not known how much the House’s outside legal counselor, Courtney Warmington, was paid. Nevertheless, Inman said it would be reasonable to assume that Ms. Warmington was paid an amount equivalent to what the plaintiff’s attorneys were paid: $16,000.
Former House Speaker Jeff Hickman, R-Fairview, authorized the settlement payments, documents show and he confirmed Thursday during a telephone call with a reporter from The Oklahoman.
Ms. Bishop complained that she was fired without explanation on Nov. 20, 2015, in retaliation for reporting the alleged harassment. A written demand for compensation for harassment and wrongful termination was submitted to the House two months later, in January 2016. Hickman’s term as a state lawmaker officially ended a few days after members of the 2017-18 Oklahoma Legislature received the oath of office on Nov. 16. The payments to settle Ms. Bishop’s complaint were made six days later, on Nov. 22.
House Democrats, “facing a litany of questions from understandably upset constituents,” want to know whether Kirby has been asked to reimburse Oklahoma taxpayers “for the costs they have incurred because of his alleged misconduct outside the scope of his authority,” Inman wrote in his letter to McCall. They also want to know when the alleged misbehavior occurred “and for what duration?”
Also, “Assuming the House of Representatives would not have used taxpayer funds to pay a baseless claim against a member of the Republican Caucus,” Inman continued, “has any course of disciplinary action been taken against Rep. Kirby in the form of sanctions, censure, removal, or impeachment?” If not, Inman asked, “are any such actions under consideration?”
Other questions that Inman, D-Del City, posed to McCall, R-Atoka, included:
Did the House leadership “initiate an independent investigation” into Ms. Bishop’s complaint? “If so, when and by whom was it authorized? If not, why not? And who made that decision?”
If an investigation was initiated, “what were the ultimate findings?”
Was the incident “ever submitted to the Oklahoma Ethics Commission for investigation?”
The settlement agreement was negotiated at whose request, and by what legal authority was the payment justified?
Please explain “the justification behind allocating more than $16,000 of legal payments … under the budgetary line item of housekeeping and cleaning supplied.”
“By what legal authority,” Inman asked, “can the House of Representatives indemnify Rep. Kirby for his alleged misconduct outside the scope of his authority?”
Inman also wondered whether other allegations of sexual misconduct or harassment have been leveled by other House staff members “against sitting or former members of the Legislature at any time in the last 12 years?”
Asked during a news conference Friday morning whether he knew of other similar incidents, Inman replied, “Not in the last 10 years while I’ve been in the Legislature.” He also said he talked to the legal counselor under previous Speakers Loyd Benson, Glen Johnson and Larry Adair, and nothing of that nature occurred during their tenure.
Although McCall was not the House Speaker “at the time that these events transpired and may not have played a role in the final settlement,” Inman wrote, “for the sake of transparency and accountability I am requesting that you or your office promptly provide the answers” to the questions he asked.
Rep. Jason Dunnington, D-Oklahoma City, wrote on Twitter, “Using taxpayer funds to pay hush money in a sexual harassment case is abhorrent. Where is the outrage from House Republicans?”
And Rep. Emily Virgin, D-Norman, posted on Twitter, “Oklahomans deserve to know how each and every tax dollar is being spent. This secret settlement flies in the face of transparency.”
McCall said recently that after he became Speaker-elect last month, House Republican legislators attended a seminar on “professional conduct and appropriate workplace behavior.” Inman informed McCall that the House Democratic Caucus was “unaware of such training,” asked for the date, location and content of the seminar, and inquired whether Kirby “was in attendance?”
“Women rightly expect to feel safe in the workplace, and need to be able to approach their superiors without fear of retribution and being fired,” Inman asserted.
In response to another question during his news conference, Inman said that neither he nor the House Democratic Caucus has called for Kirby’s resignation. “We want to see what a full investigation produces before we make a determination whether to ask for Representative Kirby’s resignation,” Inman said.
Because of the troubling nature of the allegations and the use of taxpayer funds to settle the claim, Inman asked that the House “authorize an independent investigation into the matter…” He suggested in his letter to McCall that State Auditor Gary Jones perform an audit of House finances, and recommended an independent investigation into the particular details of the alleged incident, “to ensure transparency and reassure the citizens of Oklahoma that this is just an isolated incident.”
