On Wednesday October 13th in the Oklahoma County Courthouse four lawyers hired by Central Committee members are going to try to eliminate anyone from attempting to hold them accountable on Party matters or from demanding an investigation into at least five cases of sexual harassment by GOP staff members.
If you are to believe their court filings, their autonomy trumps the right of anyone to interfere in the internal governance of the Party, claiming it is the Party's First and Fourteenth Amendment right to govern itself.
You can read the initial compliant and some of the filings at this link. GOP lawsuit The last filing by Chairman Bennett is yet to be uploaded, I can send you a copy if you ask.
The problem with their reasoning is that the Republican Party of Oklahoma isn't a legal entity, it exists under a charter from the RNC and does business as an unincorporated association which has no legal barriers in place to prevent any judgments or debts from falling upon the ruling body which is the State Committee or the registered voters of the state for that matter. AJ Ferate, R. Tom Hillis, Kyle Alderson, and "acting" General Counsel Rex Duncan filed entry of appearances with the court and filed two replies claiming a Constitutional right to boot out anyone the Party wishes, to be allowed to run the Party in contradiction with the Bylaws, allow zero financial oversight, and to deal with internal Party issues as they fit and that appears to include allegations of sexual harassment.
Who decides who is a member of the GOP? The state does, allowing anyone to register as a Republican. How does that make for a “private” group or an independent organization? There are a myriad of other ways the State of Oklahoma and the Federal government regulate or monitor political parties. The Party files Ethics Commission reports quarterly, it pays taxes on payroll, has to follow zoning laws, health and safety regulations, city ordinances. It reports to the Federal Election Commission on a quarterly basis and follows the laws of the U.S. and Oklahoma. Who pays for our method of picking our candidate in the general election? The state does, not a privately funded party caucus. At one point between 1979 and 1981 there was a law on the books allowing a one dollar check off on the State tax return. Party is an unincorporated association, it has no legal entity, yet lawyers claim it has 1st and 14th amendment rights.
The First Amendment: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
In this case that is the right to assemble and petition for the redress of grievances which has been adjudicated to mean the right to join and participate in a political party. And use our free speech.
14th Amendment: All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
The 14th Amendment protects those 1st Amendment rights but in the current lawsuit it isn't the State of Oklahoma's power or that of the Congress that is at issue; what is at issue is how the Party has written its bylaws to regulate itself and is refusing to follow their own bylaws. What the Republican Party under the Central Committee is doing is refusing the Plaintiff and other Republicans from assembling with like minded registered Republicans.
Does the general membership of the GOP have these rights to association and assembly, then why are they forced to take just anyone into the Party? Do the other Party members have the right to choose who they associate with by voting to kick people out of the Party? No? Then the only one with true First and Fourteenth Amendment rights are the individuals in the Party including the Plaintiff asking the Judge to use the powers of the judiciary to enforce the Bylaws.
So what was the motive for Chairman John Bennett to turn on a 12 year long political relationship and conspire to boot the Plaintiff out of the Party? Well, he was being surrounded by an ever increasing paranoid and power hungry staff but that alone ought not to be unexpected. We believe that what tipped the porta potty was allegations of a number of young, married, Republican volunteers reporting sexual harassment charges against two or more members of the Party leadership/staff. On the day that the Plaintiff was wrongfully removed by a uniformed off duty sheriff deputy from the State Committee meeting, he spoke to dozens of people in the parking lot of Paul Blair's church in Edmond. One was a young lady there supporting Lahmyer, who like the rest of us was denied entrance to observe the meeting. Most had been lied to and told that Bennett was to be removed, something I explained was impossible without following the requirements of a ten day notice before the meeting and majority vote and it had to be for cause, which sad to say existed.
But this young lady asked a lot of questions and we came around to discussing one particular staffer/leadership team member and the Plaintiff was told of “wildly inappropriate” behavior by the team member against the young woman. She was reluctant to share the entire story but when asked if it was creepy kind of behavior she said yes.
Well, nothing to be done as the Plaintiff had zero access to the Party according to then Public Relations Director Leslie Nessmith, now Chief of Staff, who bragged on Facebook that she, Executive Director Bob Dani, and Chairman Bennett had conspired and agreed to remove “all access” from the Party by the Plaintiff to “protect” the Party. The report wasn't a crime, sexual assault, so it couldn't be reported. The info was filed away.
Later other stories and rumors started popping up around the same theme and issue about the same staff member. Then last week a phone call came in and one of the issues discussed was Central Committee member Pam Pollard meeting with Chairman Bennett and Executive Director Bob Dani with a hint that others were present. Allegedly National Committee member Pam Pollard recounted five, I repeat five, separate allegations of sexual harassment including text messages proving the same. The alleged reply from the Republican Party leadeship? “We are not going to Brent Kavanaugh …......” and then they gave the name of the alleged sexual harasser.
Some of the other rumors about this one person were centered around late night phone calls to married volunteers. Stories have been written speculating about why Chairman John Bennett turned on many of the very team that recruited and got him elected as Chairman. It was all a mystery but perhaps these allegations explain part of the reasons. Of all people, Bennett and the motley crew he had surrounded himself with knew that Al Gerhart would not allow this to fester and would demand investigation and if found to be true the removal of the harassers would be demanded and an apology from the Party, as well as rule changes for the next convention including the formation of a grievance committee.
But if the scandal was exposed Chairman Bennett gets a black eye, poor leadership and scandal, and losing an ally in a rapidly shrinking team of individuals willing to stomp on the rights of others to maintain their grasp on power and influence.. A National news story, scandal and shame was guaranteed, along with an increasingly paranoid leadership team cracking down on team members thought to be talking with outsiders. Closely held incestuous churches tend to act like this, where outsiders are kept at arms length to “protect” the congregation, and to prevent the cult like practices to create a sense of us versus them.
A choice was made; transparency, accountability, and civil and decent treatment of women volunteers was less important than holding onto power and influence. They seem to be saying that the Republican Party must sacrifice these young married women for Chairman Bennett and his team.
And while the Sooner Tea Party is solidly Pro Life and against mandated vaccines, we have to remain consistent and non hypocritical in our arguments. What Chairman Bennett and his team are saying is “Your body, my choice on matters of sexual harassment and pregnancy, my body my choice on matters of public health such as masks and vaccines.”
The hearing will on a Temporary Injunction to force the Republican Party to a) stop libeling the Plaintiff, and b) follow their own bylaws until the entire lawsuit can be heard on the merits or until the Central Committee calls a State Committee meeting and the entire mess be investigated and cleared up once and for all. When we pass bylaws and laws and regulations we always have to be aware that one day we might no longer be in power. So turning a blind eye to the current abuse and wrongful behavior is setting a precedent for future Party leaders.
The hearing is at 12:00 pm, noon, in the court room of Judge Natalie Mai on the 7th floor of the Oklahoma County Courthouse in room 707. Bring as mask as they will surely require one once inside the courtroom. I know, yuck, but bring a mask and wear it or do not complain if Chairman Bennett and his team or the next administration of the Party puts a boot on your neck and laughs at you for trying to participate.
My cell number is 405-942-2644 if you have any knowledge of any kind that you wish to share. Please don't call if you are upset that Party leadership is being held accountable, I could care less about you if that is how you see things. Please don't call if you are a victim and refuse to at least talk to a judge in private, the very least that is needed. If sexual harassment is to be stopped the victims HAVE to come forward and the law does protect them in many ways but at some point, if the accused is adamant, they have the right to face their accusers.
I would ask everyone to call their County Chair, Vice Chair, and both State Committee members and demand that they step up and deal with this mess immediately. Probably little use to call the Vice Chair or the National Committee members, Shane Jemison, Pam Pollard, and Steve Curry. You cannot get that contact from the Republican Party on their website, they pulled it down sometimes after July 4th of this year, about the time this controversy exploded, to prevent "phishing". However an email by replying to this email will get you what you need if there is no other way.
This story was edited after news of a second abuser came in shortly after it was published.
