OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond to represent Oklahoma in lawsuit over tribal gaming compacts signed by Governor Stitt.
According to Drummond the compacts were unlawful from the start with Stitt sidestepping Oklahoma's legal process. In a letter penned to Stitt, Drummond says Oklahoma's partnership with the Tribal Nations suffers with Stitt's legislation.
Oklahoma’s relationship with our tribal partners has suffered greatly as a result of your divisive rhetoric and refusal to follow the law.
The citizens you were elected to serve are the ones who suffer from this irresponsible approach. Instead of working in partnership with tribal leaders to enact compacts that benefit all four million Oklahomans, you insist on costly legal battles that only benefit the elite law firms you hire. Millions of dollars of state resources have been squandered on these futile efforts.
Drummond says that three private law firms have obtained nearly $600,000 defending the compacts in litigation. He wrote that millions more of taxpayer dollars have gone to legal actions defending Stitt's unlawful bills.
While Governor Stitt and I are both elected Republican leaders who agree on many issues, I have been highly critical of his dealings with our Native American Tribes.
The Governor is free to make his own decisions regarding how he wants to interact with the tribes, but he is not free to violate Oklahoma law. I am taking this action in order to uphold the law and defend our constitution.
Oklahoma Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat applauds Drummond's actions in this case. Treat previously asked for Drummond to intervene as to not continue to use tax-payer funds to mediate the gaming compacts in litigation.
The Oklahoma Supreme Court already ruled in favor of the Tribes twice since 2020 when the original gaming compact was drafted.
In a press release, Treat addressed Drummond's intervention and Stitts use of taxpayer funds.
I appreciate Attorney General Drummond’s dedication to the rule of law and his willingness to intervene in this case.
His involvement is our best and most expeditious path forward. The governor has wasted untold amounts of taxpayer money on these lawsuits that have been an abject failure. Continuing them does nothing but alienate our tribal partners and undermine the very goals that the governor says he’s trying to achieve. The McGirt and Hooper cases are deeply troubling but our actions to mitigate their potential negative impact need to be lawful, strategic, effective, and respectful of the tribal leaders that are also fellow Oklahomans. Heretofore, his actions fail on all four metrics. I am hopeful that with the attorney general warranted intervention and recent legislative action that Oklahoma can start to move down a more effective pathway.
As a proud supporter and advocate of federalism, I can no longer stand by and watch Oklahoma taxpayer dollars be spent on high-dollar east coast law firms in pursuit of Governor Stitt's personal agenda at the expense of the state's interests.
2 News reached out to Governor Stitt's office for comment. Governor Stitt's Communications Director Abegail Cave said, "General Drummond, in an unprecedented move, is turning his back on four tribes who have been sued by Oklahoma’s wealthiest tribes. Drummond continues to work with these wealthy tribes as they use Oklahoma political officials to further their agenda. Governor Stitt is actively fighting for eastern Oklahoma as these tribes continue their efforts to turn Tulsa and much of the rest of eastern Oklahoma into a reservation."
This is a developing story.
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