GOP Attorney Reveals Multiple Phony Photos In Reprimand Letter To Shortey

The McCarville Report has obtained a copy of the critical reprimand letter the Oklahoma Republican Party’s attorney sent to Rep. Ralph Shortey, consultant to Rep. Mike Christian’s campaign for Oklahoma County Sheriff.

The letter, from attorney Anthony J. Ferate, advises Shortey that the unauthorized use of government-produced photographs opens the user to prosecution.

And Ferate reveals in the letter that another of Shortey’s documents for a client has included unauthorized photos that also falsely claim the document was approved by the Oklahoma Republican Party.

October 26, 2016

Mr. Ralph Shortey

2105 SW 64th Street

Oklahoma City, OK 73159

Mr. Shortey:

It has come to my attention that a mail piece was sent on behalf of your client, Mike Christian, bearing the statement “Authorized by the Oklahoma Republican Party” and further featuring photographs of Senator James Lankford, Congressman Tom Cole and Congressman Steve Russell.

I regret to inform you that the mail piece was at no time authorized by the Oklahoma Republican Party (ORP.)

Further, it has come to my attention that none of the members of our federal delegation authorized the use of their image on the mail piece. Nor would they have allowed for the use of the image you selected; the photo you used was produced at taxpayer expense and use for campaign purposes is strictly prohibited by federal law.

The ORP has offered, within state and federal law, to coordinate mail pieces throughout this and past elections. The program has been successfully used by a number of candidates over the years. To comply with this service, ORP retains final approval on mail pieces and submits the pieces to our mail vendor. It is my understanding that you mailed three pieces of mail for clients in the past several days, two of which have been raised as questionable to this point. One, the Mike Christian piece, was highlighted above. Another piece, for a legislative candidate, spoke to the immigration issue and used a photo of school students that was not authorized for use by the students in the photo or their parents. Similarly, this piece was not authorized by the ORP and none of these items were approved by the ORP.

An important element of serving as a political consultant is that you know the regulations and impacts of the advice you give and the products you develop. The decisions you have undertaken in the past several days have the potential to cause reviews by the Oklahoma Ethics Commission, the Federal Election Commission, and the member ethics committees in the U.S. House and Senate.

Since ORP and our federal delegation did not approve participation in the piece I would believe any review would be brief, however the fact that we may be faced with addressing the issue through no fault of our own is a problem.

The ORP wishes that your candidates succeed on the ballot and will continue to support our coordination with their campaigns. However, due to the lack of communication that has arisen, I respectfully request that prior to submittal by ORP and until further notice, any mail piece you produce with intent that it be authorized by the ORP must be reviewed by an attorney licensed in Oklahoma that has an understanding of election law. That attorney may communicate directly with me once they approve the mail.

It is my hope that this unfortunate event can be put behind us and that your candidates will see victory in just a few short days. Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Respectfully,
Anthony J. Ferate Attorney, Oklahoma Republican Party