Government Corruption — East Oklahoma Accountability reporting on public corruption, misconduct, and abuse of power across eastern Oklahoma. EastOklahoma.com covers investigations into elected officials, law enforcement, local government, and public institutions — holding power accountable in communities from Tulsa and Muskogee to the small towns and counties of Green Country.
Government Corruption
The state helped bust a $191 million cattle Ponzi scheme. Now it may be aiming the same weapon at families who just wanted beef. In 1967, a federal appeals court with jurisdiction over Oklahoma was asked to decide what a beaver is. Not biologically — legally. A company called Continental Marketing
Tulsa
The Congressman Who Trades Millions: Kevin Hern, Oklahoma’s Stock-Market Senator-in-Waiting In the spring of 2026, as Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK) cruised toward the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate, a familiar pattern reemerged. Financial disclosure reports showed the multimillionaire congressman and businessman had once again
Pawhuska
In Osage County, Oklahoma, the path to public office is supposed to run through the voters. But a detailed timeline of documents, meeting minutes, internal communications, and public records reviewed by EastOklahoma.com raises serious questions about whether Shawna Myers — a Republican Party insider and current county employee — has been
Claremore
Claremore, Oklahoma, is the kind of place where neighborly disputes are supposed to stay small. A dispute over a property line, some loud music, or kids cutting across lawns. The sort of thing that might end with a terse conversation or a call to the local police, who then mediate
Crimes
He ran for sheriff on a promise to restore law and order to Coal County. Less than a year into office, Jason Smith stood accused of being the county's most prominent lawbreaker — drunk on duty, violent toward his own wife, sexually harassing female deputies, and allegedly aided in
Government Corruption
The following is based solely on the account of one individual and has not been independently verified. EastOklahoma.com has reached out to all parties named for comment. A Seminole County man is speaking out about what he describes as a years-long property dispute involving a local church, a
Tulsa
Who Has the Right to Put You in Prison? Inside the Legal War Tearing Eastern Oklahoma Apart There is a child pornographer sitting in a federal prison cell serving 50 years. There is also a drug trafficker whose case may be thrown out because the wrong court filed the charges.
Broken Arrow
A chemical exposure at Google's Pryor facility, a blanket refusal to disclose what workers breathed, and the hidden hazards inside the data centers sweeping across Green Country An investigative report by EastOklahoma.com The Document They Didn't Expect You to See On May 13, 2026, attorneys
Government Corruption
From a Marine veteran's stolen salvage yard to Bixby's confidential meetings — a pattern of secret annexations, silenced communities, and one disbarred attorney at the center of it all An investigative report by EastOklahoma.com The Template Somewhere in Green Country, a city manager receives a call
Tulsa
How a disbarred Oklahoma attorney championed the little guy in public — while a Marine veteran's land vanished into a billion-dollar data center corridor An investigative report New Year's Day, 2026 Seven hours into the New Year, Ron Durbin was already working. The disbarred Tulsa attorney
Tulsa
The Woman Who Wouldn't Stay Silent: Larita Barnes' 19-Year Battle Against Federal Corruption A federal appellate court just ruled she can sue the government. Here's the shocking story of how law enforcement framed an innocent woman — and why it took nearly two decades to
Feature Story
The Watchdog Under Attack: Stitt Moves to Audit the Attorney General Who Keeps Exposing His Administration's Corruption When the AG Started Investigating, Stitt Started Retaliating OKLAHOMA CITY — On May 22, 2026, Governor Kevin Stitt requested a special audit of Attorney General Gentner Drummond's office, claiming the