What’s happening, Oklahoma? It is Wednesday, August 6, but what a crazy end to the news day on Tuesday.

A report was released by Speaker of the House Kyle Hilbert (R-Bristow) indicating that Samsung indicated the nudity on State Superintendent Ryan Walters’ TV on July 24 was likely from the 1985 movie “The Protector,” starring Jackie Chan.

I’ve never seen it.

To be clear: This wasn’t an official report. This was Hilbert going to somebody he knows at Samsung to figure out what would have been playing at that time, and then he pieced the movie together with the scenes in question.

The OSBI and Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office investigations are still ongoing per multiple reports.

Hilbert released the information to media late Tuesday afternoon, and then predictably all heck broke loose on social.

“I told you! They tried to frame Ryan Walters.”

“Why is Ryan Walters watching 1980s movies starring Jackie Chan?”

Kidding. That would have been my question. Except that the initial report indicates that this TV, new to Walters’ office reportedly, had Samsung+ on it without parental controls (the parental controls part is my guess), which reportedly makes your TV play things on its own.

I don’t know. I had four TVs in my office (at a TV station), and they always did what I instructed them to do, although because of their proximity to each other, I could never mute the volume on just one TV.

They were a pain in the neck.

But by all accounts, yeah, this was likely a misunderstanding.

And it could have been treated as such until Walters decided to attack Board members Becky Carson, Ryan Deatherage, Chris Van Dehende and Mike Tinney, who were there with the state superintendent in executive session that July day.

And then he said it was a lie. It wasn’t. We believe we now know what Board members saw, and it was full nudity. Without the context of a Jackie Chan plot, however, it could have absolutely been mistaken for pornography by anybody who saw it.

Think about that for a second: What the Board reported was 100 percent factual.

Also, there is a 100 percent chance any Oklahoma teacher in the same situation would have been fired for attempting to bring radical leftist ideology into our public classrooms.

But I digress.

Then Walters went on about the TV only being able to play cable, which was disproven quickly. And it was a fib that was so needless. If you haven’t yet, take the time to watch Fox 25 anchor Wendy Suares’ interview with the state superintendent.

Heck, then Walters brought Gov. Stitt into it, suggesting it was a conspiracy from the top, that Kevin put the Board up to it.

Jiminy.

A person makes things so much worse for themselves with a poor reaction and cover up. That’s not likely why the OSBI and OCSO investigations are still ongoing. They’re probably just being thorough.

And in all likelihood, there’s no cover-up. My gut says that Hilbert beat everybody to the punch and that this was it all along.

The coverage of Hilbert’s report release Tuesday afternoon ranged from amateur to fantastic. I’ll feature the best of the coverage — and I won’t take the time to drag the stations and publications that went with, “It was a 1980s movie! He’s vindicated.”

That’s the mission of ‘Oklahoma Memo,’ to amplify the best journalism in Oklahoma.

But I’ve seen these kinds of stories before, and they’re almost always never really over.

You can message me anytime at [email protected].

Weather Update ☀️

Hot and a little breezy. It’s going to be pretty brutal the next few days.

🌡️ Wednesday's high in OKC 96°
🌡️ Wednesday’s high in Tulsa 94°

Oklahoma House speaker says ‘bizarre accident’ likely caused explicit images on Walters’ TV

By Nuria Martinez-Keel, Oklahoma Voice
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OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma’s House speaker said Tuesday a “bizarre accident” likely caused images of nude women to appear on state Superintendent Ryan Walters’ office TV.

Two law enforcement agencies said Tuesday that they are still investigating.

Walters recently had a Samsung TV installed in his office that, when powered on, automatically displayed the ​​Samsung TV Plus Channel 1204 (Movie Hub Action), House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, said in a news release. 

Hilbert said he learned Tuesday morning from Samsung that the channel was airing the 1985 film “The Protector” followed by the 2017 film “The Foreigner” during the timeframe when two members of the Oklahoma State Board of Education reported seeing the explicit images during a private portion of their July 24 meeting.

Descriptions of scenes in the “The Protector” are consistent with what board members reported seeing on Walters’ TV, Hilbert said. The film also matches images of a doctor, a nurse and a white lab coat that Walters told Hilbert he saw when he turned around toward the TV screen, according to the speaker’s release.

Walters previously said the board members’ allegations were “categorically false” and suggested it was a set-up by Gov. Kevin Stitt, whose appointees made the claims. His office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Click to finish the story.

See Also 👀

‘I believe we now have answers’: Hilbert posits Jackie Chan film as explanation for Walters TV nudity (NonDoc)

Oklahoma House Speaker says review of TV incident vindicates Walters and board members (KGOU)

Report: Movie with nudity was playing on TV in the State Superintendent’s office during a recent meeting (KFOR)

House Speaker Hilbert says Walters TV incident likely 'a bizarre accident' (Tulsa World)

Oklahoma Watch: Markwayne Mullin violated the STOCK Act by failing to disclose hundreds of thousands of dollars in trades

By Dave Levinthal, Oklahoma Watch
Click here to read the story.
Donate to Oklahoma Watch.

Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin violated a federal financial conflicts of interest and disclosure law by failing to properly disclose hundreds of thousands of dollars in stock and bond trades, a review of new congressional documents found.

The Oklahoma senator was two-and-a-half years late reporting seven stock purchases by his wife and about one-and-a-half years late disclosing three Oklahoma-connected municipal security purchases for himself, according to a disclosure Mullin filed Wednesday with the U.S. Senate.

The Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act, or STOCK Act, requires a member of Congress to disclose any stock, bond or cryptocurrency trade done by themselves, spouse or dependent child within 45 days.

Mullin’s Senate office acknowledged the senator’s tardy disclosures.

“Much like tax returns, financial disclosures occasionally need to be amended to reflect the most accurate, up-to-date information,” said a Mullin spokesperson, who refused to be identified by name. “That’s what we did here.” 

The spokesperson said Mullin uses an independent, third-party operator firm that manages all stock portfolio investments on his behalf.

“He does not conduct nor inform trades,” the spokesperson said. “This independent firm reports bi-weekly with Senate Ethics to ensure compliance with federal law.”

Click here to finish the story.

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The Oklahoma Rundown 📰

A hand-curated list of the best journalism from across the state:

• DOJ sues Oklahoma over in-state tuition access for undocumented immigrants (Oklahoma Voice)

• Oklahoma Supreme Court says controversial new social studies standards will go into effect this year (KOSU)

• USDA approves Oklahoma application to ban candy and soda from SNAP (Tulsa World)

• Public comment closes Friday for proposed ‘teacher effectiveness’ metric on Oklahoma A-F Report Card (KGOU)

• Protest for Gazan children outside Tulsa Jewish center draws criticism (Public Radio Tulsa)

• Oklahoma AG calls out state auditor over continued delays in turnpike audit (Oklahoma Voice)

• Putnam City superintendent to retire after 50 years in public education (Oklahoma Voice)

• State employees not happy after first day back in office (KFOR)

• Limited housing options contribute to sex offenders becoming homeless (KOCO)

• Creek County chase ends with arrests of two suspects linked to Edmond murder (News On 6)

• Bethany man formally charged with murdering ex-partner, violating protective order (KOCO)

• Chef Chad Cherry is at war with the system. Tulsa is his basecamp (The Oklahoma Eagle)

• Drag queen believes cancelling Pride event in Bartlesville could lead to a domino effect (Fox 23)

• ‘Faces of Freedmen’ exhibit links descendants to ancestors (The Black Wall Street Times)

• Cherokee Nation unveils new wellness hub (Cherokee Phoenix)

• Beggs landmark faces repair challenges amid community support (2 News Oklahoma)

• 10th annual Holba' Pisachi' Native Film Festival set (The Ada News)

• Walters woman accused in kidnapping case, now charged after police chase (KSWO)

• Bid accepted for new police station in Ardmore (Ardmoreite)

• County Commissioners tackle election changes, funding plans and staffing needs (Woodward News)

• 'Children led the movement.' Events commemorating OKC sit-in movement planned in August (The Oklahoman)

• Carlson: John Mateer being compared to Baker Mayfield is disservice for OU football QB (The Oklahoman)

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