Rep. Dan Kirby Appears Before Investigative Committee

<p>Representative Dan Kirby testified before the state House of Representatives Rules Committee on Friday, reversing his decision made last week. </p>

Friday, January 27th 2017, 9:57 pm

By: Grant Hermes

Rep. Dan Kirby Appears Before Investigative Committee

Representative Dan Kirby testified before the state House of Representatives Rules Committee on Friday, reversing his decision made last week.

The Tulsa Republican is being investigated by the committee after claims were made he sexually harassed several former staffers. The Rules Committee is also looking into how taxpayer dollars were spent settling a wrongful termination claim by one of the same staffers.

Kirby, accompanied by his lawyers, emerged from the meeting which lasted close to four hours. He spoke to reporters briefly, but did not give insight into any potential decisions to be made.

"I would like to compliment the committee on allowing me to give my side of the story. I think they've done a fair job in allowing me to present my side. They were professional and I appreciate that of them," Kirby said appearing fatigued after the meeting. "I hope that you guys will understand that I will not be giving any more public statements at this time. We're going to wait until the findings of the committee are made available."

Kirby had previously said he would not testify without his attorneys present. His decision to testify came after Speaker of the House Charles McCall suspended his chairmanship of the House Committee on Commerce, Business and Tourism. He said in a statement on Thursday his decision to testify was in the best interest of his constituents and the citizen of Oklahoma.

The committee has met several times over the course of two weeks. Each meeting, including the meeting on Friday was held in executive session away from the public eye and reporter questions.

Two democrats appointed to the committee have refused to attend the meetings because they were asked to sign confidentiality agreements barring them from discussing the investigation until the findings were released.

Chairman of the committee Rep Josh Cockcroft (R-Oklahoma City) said the committee plans to meet one more time next week, hoping to have the investigation finalized before the legislative session started Feb. 2.

The committee cannot punish Kirby itself, it can only make recommendations to the House. They could recommend Kirby be reprimanded or fined. Both would take a majority vote from members of the House. The last time the House reprimanded a member was in 2011.

The committee could also recommend to expel Kirby, which would take a two-thirds vote from the chamber. If that were to happen it would be for the first time in Oklahoma history.