In a release today the OKGOP has finally addressed issues investigated by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). For the first time publicly, OKGOP leadership has admitted civil penalties have been levied against the Republican Party in Oklahoma.

The release begins by whining that there has been considerable social media statements and, for the first time, acknowledges issues arose during 2019-2020 noting, “the party state treasurer died in office and access to his files was lost and reports were not correctly or timely filed” which begs the question of what transparency and detail was provided by the Party Chairman to the OKGOP Finance Committee and to the OKGOP State Committee (the organization’s ruling body) at that time and in the time since.

The Statement continues:

While we are still in negations with the FEC and don’t want to jeopardize those negotiations, we believe that we are now within days of a final settlement agreement with the FEC as to the amounts and payment schedule. Therefore we feel that it would be appropriate to address the issue as much as we can at this time to inform you the members of facts we believe are of importance to you and clarify any misconceptions.

First, while these fines do cover a period in the distant past, the penalties were not officially levied against the party until the Fall of 2024. The OKGOP had been in communication with the FEC for years until the FEC rendered its final ruling. This ruling came even after two administrations worked to provide the information for the needed reports dating back to 2020, but it was determined that the documentation was no longer available which prevented the party from being able to correct the required reports.

Once we received notice of the ruling we once again appealed to the FEC to show leniency due to the party’s inability to locate the necessary documentation in order to comply. The FEC unfortunately stood fast in its position, leaving the ruling intact.

At this point the party worked with legal counsel to explore any options that might be available. Our attorney suggested that we enter into conciliation with the FEC in an attempt to try and work out a settlement. This effort has been ongoing for several months and to date the FEC has made an offer which represents a substantial reduction in the total amount owed along with a payment plan so that the amount can be paid over the course of several months.

The party’s legal counsel is at this time awaiting a final settlement offer, which is now expected to result in an agreement in the very near future. We have been fortunate that the work by the attorney appears to have resulted in a substantial reduction in the financial burden, yet even with this settlement the final amount will still be a significant challenge for the party and will require a major fundraising effort to satisfy.

Throughout this time period no demand for any payments have been made by the FEC as we have been working through the negotiation process. Once that process is complete the proposed settlement will have to go through the FEC Board for final approval and then payments will have to begin shortly after that last step. It is anticipated that this process is very near its end and that we should have a definitive resolution in hand shortly.

We will update you the members as to any significant changes in this process and then give an outline of the final results once they have been fully determined.

Please understand that some of the specifics have been withheld for the moment to protect the sensitive nature of the attorney’s FEC negotiations and specific details will be released once that effort has finally completed.

We also want to make clear that these were reporting errors done over 4 years ago and the FEC has made no allegations or findings suggesting nefarious actions on the part of anyone at any time in relation to this matter.

We have been working internally to develop a funding plan in order to raise the funds that will be necessary to retire the amount owed and on the schedule directed by the FEC.

While we had no control over the circumstance that led to this issue, we’ve worked diligently to correct it, but there is still more to be done. At this point we must pull together and address this challenge in order to keep the party solvent and functioning on behalf of all Oklahoma Republicans.

The ongoing problem is that elected chairs of the Oklahoma Republican Party have, during the last several administrations, failed to provide transparency to the ruling body of the organization or the finance committee that is tasked to review all financial transactions. While law-enforcement and the courts are loath to become involved in private organizational disputes, OKGOP Rules are specific.

When elected chairs act like dictators (rule-breakers/criminals) the people who comprise the organization are honor bound to object. This has been a major source of conflict within the organization.