House panel takes no action on Oklahoma lawmaker’s alleged misconduct, sets another meeting

OKLAHOMA CITY — House lawmakers met behind closed doors for about eight hours Tuesday to review the findings of investigations into allegations of misconduct by an Oklahoma lawmaker but took no formal action. 

Following allegations from House staff of “improper behavior” from Republican Rep. Danny Williams, chamber leadership ordered investigations and charged the chamber’s Rules Committee with reviewing investigations into the claims and taking action, if necessary. The specifics of the allegations or investigations have still not been made public. 

Rep. Mike Osburn, R-Edmond, who leads the committee, said they have requested further information from House legal staff and plan to reconvene Thursday morning. 

“Today was an opportunity for members to examine the investigation, ask questions, hear directly from Rep. Williams and his counsel, and consider all the information available to us,” Osburn said following the meeting. 

Williams, R-Seminole, did not immediately return a phone call requesting comment Tuesday. He previously told a KFOR reporter that he was told not to publicly discuss the allegations. He said he didn’t remember what all the claims were but said they weren’t sexual in nature and denied any wrongdoing.

“I think after he read the summaries of the reports, and listened to the questions, and answered the questions, I think everybody’s pretty close on the same page,” Osburn said Tuesday. 

Williams and his counsel were before the Rules Committee for over an hour and he was given the opportunity to answer questions, Osburn said.

Thursday’s meeting will begin behind closed doors, but if any formal action is taken it will happen during an open meeting, he said. 

“This is a personnel matter, and there’s a lot of confidential information that is being discussed,” Osburn said. “And so we feel at this point we need to keep it closed.”

If action is taken, it will require a vote of the full House, he said, but it could range from expulsion, to censure, to no action. 

House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, informed lawmakers in a July 23 email that Williams was being investigated by a private, third party law firm following allegations of “improper behavior” toward chamber staff and that an internal HR investigation found “potential misuse of state resources.” 

Hilbert wrote that referring the matter to the Rules Committee follows House precedent from 2017, a year with multiple separate investigations into lawmakers that led to resignations, recommended sanctions and potential votes for expulsion. 

He also suspended Williams from his committees and moved his office at the Capitol.