The Oklahoma Ethics Commission publicly acknowledged it is investigating Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters, an unusual move as most of the matters taken up by the commission are confidential.
As reported by Non-Doc, Walters is being questioned about his handling of 2022 campaign funds and for using a social media account with his official title to make posts about Donald Trump.
State ethics rules prohibit a state officer from using an official social media account to advocate for the election or defeat of a candidate for elected office.
The commission listed several examples of posts from Walters’ account.
In an Oct. 31 post, Walters stated: “The biggest threat to our economy, our kids, and our families is Kamala Harris. Her border failures have cost our state half a billion dollars. We never had this under President Trump. We must hold Kamala accountable on November 5!”
Another post read: “Time to shut the border down: elect @realdonaldtrump and @jdvance.” In a Nov. 4 post, Walters stated, “Tomorrow, we will elect @realDonaldTrump.” In a Nov. 5 post, he stated, “I just cast my ballot for President Trump. … Let’s get President Trump back in the White House and get this country back on the right track!”
The Ethics Commission on Friday voted to file a subpoena for Walters’ campaign records and pursue prosecution in district court.