3 days ago
Ryan Walters says he's cleared in TV nudity investigation. Sheriff's office says case is open
One day into an investigation to determine whether naked women were on a television screen in his office, state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters says investigators have already cleared him of any wrongdoing.
In fact, the investigation by the Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office is ongoing, and no one has been cleared of any wrongdoing, said Aaron Brilbeck, a spokesman for the agency. The state Office of Management and Enterprise Services tapped the sheriff's office to conduct the investigation, which was launched on Monday, July 28.
On Tuesday afternoon, Walters held a fiery news conference at the Oklahoma Capitol and said the investigators had concluded that none of his devices were ever connected to the television. He said he was targeted by a coordinated campaign of lies and called on members of the Oklahoma State Board of Education to resign.
"We have had our name cleared by both OMES and the sheriff's office," Walters told those gathered. "There is nothing scandalous that I was part of, whatsoever."
Three state Board of Education members — Becky Carson of Edmond, Ryan Deatherage of Kingfisher and Michael Tinney of Norman — issued a joint statement denying the accusations made against them by Walters. They urged him to cooperate with investigators.
"As volunteer board members, we have sacrificed our time to advocate for the students of Oklahoma," they said. "We all want the best education for our students, not inflamed political rhetoric. No board member has accused Superintendent Walters of anything; we only brought attention to inappropriate content on a TV — content that would cause a teacher in our state to lose their license."
More: Nude women on Ryan Walters' TV screen during executive session: What we know
Their remarks came five days after Carson and Deatherage told The Oklahoman they saw images of naked women on a TV screen in Walters' office during an executive session on July 24.
In describing what she saw, Carson said:
'I saw them just walking across the screen, and I'm like, 'no.' I'm sorry I even have to use this language, but I'm like, 'Those are her nipples.' And then I'm like, 'That's pubic hair.' What in the world am I watching? I didn't watch a second longer. … I was so disturbed by it, I was like, 'What is on your TV?' I was very stern, like I'd been a mother or a classroom teacher. And I said, 'What am I watching? Turn it off now!''
At his news conference Tuesday, Walters said the board members' accounts were meant to "crucify" his character, noting later that President Donald Trump had faced similar attacks.
He delivered about five minutes of remarks, then spent nearly three more minutes responding to four questions from reporters. He left as reporters shouted more questions at him.
Walters contended the board members' accounts were lies they had concocted with Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt, who had appointed them to the board.
As governor, Stitt appoints six of the board's seven members. He overhauled the board earlier this year amid a political feud with Walters, who has the final seat on the board.
"The governor needs to answer the questions: Did you tell these board members to come here and do this? Did you coordinate with them afterwards to set all this up?" Walters asked during the news conference, which on the Capitol's second floor, steps from the governor's office.
Many staffers for the governor's office stood behind reporters to watch the news conference, and other observers watched from the third floor and fourth floor, looking down through the rotunda.
Stitt, who appointed Carson, Deatherage, Tinney and three other board members, has said he's backing his appointees.
"I trust and appreciate my board members," Stitt said. "They are volunteers who are sacrificing their time to serve Oklahoma students. Should these allegations be true, all I can say is that I am profoundly disappointed."
Walters has denied knowing about any inappropriate content on the television in his office. On Tuesday, he deflected questions about the type of content that could be shown on the TV.
When asked by a reporter whether the television was capable of streaming digital content from a separate electronic device, Walters did not say yes or no and responded by saying, "This is cable TV news that we're talking about, folks."
Hours before the news conference, in an interview with FOX 25's Wendy Suares, Walters said the television in his office is only capable of playing cable television, a fact that he said made the board members' version of events "impossible."
When Suares asked to see the cable television, Walters replied, "It's a cable TV box." A person behind the camera can be heard saying to Suares, "I think he's answered the question." Another person behind the camera said, "It's his private office."
After Suares asked whether it's correct to say the television in question was only connected to a cable box and "not like an internet-type situation," a person behind the camera replied, "I think he's covered it in great detail."
After the Fox 25 interview aired, the Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office issued an unsigned statement saying it could not share any details about its investigation, which it described as in its "infancy."
"You can, however, expect a thorough investigation with the results being made public at the conclusion," the office said.
(This story was updated to add new information.)
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Ryan Walters says he's cleared in TV case, but investigation continues
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