Rep. Kirby decides not to go before special committee
State Rep. Dan Kirby on Monday called the special House committee investigation of him unfair, and he said he will not appear before it to answer questions.
The committee is investigating accusations Kirby, R-Tulsa, sexually harassed two former assistants. It could recommend the House expel him. He had been invited to appear Monday morning.
Kirby, who denies wrongdoing, instead had delivered to the committee a short written statement, as well as evidence.
“In any case, the accused
is always guaranteed access to testimony and evidence so that he can properly defend himself,” Kirby, 58, said later in a news release. “However, the actions of the (committee) chairman and the committee have limited my ability to defend myself. Until the committee can guarantee a fair process, I cannot subject myself to a blind interrogation.”
Kirby raised four specific issues with the process, including that “neither he nor his attorney were notified and allowed to be present during the questioning of witnesses.”
In response, the committee chairman said the investigation will go forward with or without Kirby.
“Rep. Kirby has been offered every document the committee believed he could be provided without compromising confidential information,” said Rep. Josh Cockroft, R-Wanette. “What Rep. Kirby seems to want is the opportunity to cross-examine his accusers, and that is simply not going to happen. Allowing that would discourage future victims from coming forward.
“It was explained to Rep. Kirby that this process is closed to protect the victims, not the elected officials,” Cockroft said. “I don’t understand Rep. Kirby’s confusion. There is no mystery as to what we are investigating here.”
One former assistant, Hollie Anne Bishop, complained to the House human resources office in 2015. The second assistant, Carol Johnson, complained to that office last year.
Bishop, 28, has not appeared before the committee. Johnson, 37, of Norman, spoke to the committee Wednesday.
The committee also is investigating an accusation Rep. Will Fourkiller, D-Stilwell, upset a high school page in 2015. Fourkiller also has denied wrongdoing. He also has refused to appear before the committee.
The special committee was created in response to public outrage over the use of public funds to settle a wrongful termination claim made by Bishop after she was fired.
Bishop complained to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that the House fired her in November 2015 in retaliation for reporting Kirby. Former House Speaker Jeff Hickman approved the $44,500 settlement shortly before he left office.
Johnson has not taken any legal action against either the House or Kirby. She told The Oklahoman she spoke to the committee in hopes that Kirby will be removed.
“He was constantly trying to blur the line between what was acceptable and what was unacceptable,” she said.
Johnson worked for Kirby during the 2012, 2013 and 2016 legislative sessions. She said that he repeatedly asked her — in person and by text messages — for nude photos of herself. She said he also made constant inappropriate comments about her looks and attire. She said she did comply with his photo requests at times to keep the peace.
“Rep. Kirby was very forceful in his requests for photographs,” she said. In an interview with
The Oklahoman, Kirby acknowledged last week that he had asked Johnson on occasion for nude photos. He said, though, they had a consensual personal relationship.
Johnson denies they had any personal relationship. She was put on paid leave and then reassigned to another legislator last year after complaining. She later left the Capitol for family reasons.
In his news release Monday, Kirby again insisted the first photo Johnson sent to him was not solicited “and neither were others after that.” He reported the last photo he recalled receiving from her was in early 2016.
Kirby did apologize Monday to the public, saying “it was poor judgment on my part to allow my relationship with Ms. Johnson to go beyond a strictly professional, working relationship.”