CONFLICT OF INTEREST? PAY TO PLAY? Oklahoma Energy Discrimination Act Case Is Looking Like Corruption To Its Core.
Media Contact:
Yitz Friedman
Communications Manager
The American Accountability Foundation
651-398-3717
www.americanaccountabilityfoundation.com
RE: CONFLICT OF INTEREST: Attorney for Plaintiff in Oklahoma Energy Discrimination Act Case Donated $500 to Rep. Preston Stinson, Husband of Judge Sheila Stinson, Just Two Days After Judge Stinson’s Favorable Ruling
The Oklahoma Energy Discrimination Act of 2022 (the Act) is currently being litigated through the Oklahoma court system. The Act allows the Oklahoma State Treasurer to review the activities of financial services firms to see if the firms discriminate against oil and gas companies, and if the Treasurer determines that they do, the Treasurer may designate the firms as prohibited from doing business with State entities
An Oklahoma pension beneficiary, Don Keenan, filed a lawsuit last year(Don Keenan v. Todd Russ)alleging that the Act violates the Oklahoma Constitution and that the Act is too vague. Keenan’s petition sought declaratory relief that the Act be declared unconstitutional and injunctive relief preventing the Act from being enforced by the State Treasurer. Importantly, the attorney representing Keenan in the case is Collin Walke.
Today, July 19,Judge Sheila Stinson has scheduled a hearing on several important motions in the case, including Don Keenan’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgement and Application for Writ of Prohibition
The hearing comes after Judge Stinson granted a temporary injunction against Treasurer Russ enforcing the Act on May 7th, 2024and wrote that Keenan is likely to win on the merits of the case: District Court of Oklahoma County, Case CV-2023-3021,Order as to Plaintiffs Motion for Temporary Injunction, Filed on May 7, 2024.
Just two days after Judge Sheila Stinson issued her order granting a temporary injunction against enforcement of the Act on May 7, 2024, the campaign of State Rep. Preston Stinson reported receiving a contribution of $500 from Collin Walke–the attorney representing the plaintiff in the case against the Energy Discrimination Act–on May 9, 2024.–
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