Legislators scrutinized over event
Cargill and some representatives confirmed that they accepted a bus ride to the fundraiser from lobbyist Bill Case, a former state representative with ties to the businessman.
Another representative and State Republican Party Chairman Gary Jones said they traveled to Dallas for the fundraiser on their own.
About 300 guests went to the Dec. 18 fundraiser at the Dallas poolhouse of Gene and Roxanne Phillips. Huckabee, a Republican, is running for president and is the former governor of Arkansas.
Gene Phillips did not pay for the legislators' bus ride, said his attorney, Stephen Jones.
The trip has generated some criticism in political circles. House Minority Leader Danny Morgan, D-Prague, said residents of Oklahoma should be concerned the House speaker "would allow himself and his members to be courted by a man alleged to be involved in the demise of former Insurance Commissioner Carroll Fisher.”
Fisher, 67, faces a bribery trial in May. The former insurance commissioner is accused in a felony charge of illegally receiving money, gifts and gratuities from "Phillips, his family and business associates” after he was first elected to office in November 1998.
Among the alleged bribes was a $25,000 check made out to Fisher in December 1998. Fisher called the money a loan.
The state House in 2004 voted to impeach Fisher in part for accepting about $20,000 in furnishings and furniture from "the Gene Phillips Group” for his state office. Fisher quit rather than face an ouster trial in the Senate and is now in prison, convicted of embezzling campaign funds.
No charges for Phillips
Phillips was questioned by investigators working for Oklahoma's attorney general. He has never been charged with bribing Fisher. Phillips denies wrongdoing.
Cargill and others said they didn't pay attention to who was hosting the fundraiser when they decided to go. Cargill said he was invited by Case.
"I didn't know where it was going to be,” Cargill said. "I was invited to the event and so went down there and it was at Mr. Phillips' home. ... I said, ‘Hi,' to Mr. Phillips and that was pretty much that. We were there to see the governor (Huckabee) and talk to him and we had that opportunity.”
Asked whether he would have gone had he known beforehand that the fundraiser was at Phillips' home, Cargill said, "I went there to meet the governor, not to talk to anybody else.”
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Most of the legislators and Gary Jones said they were not aware of the accusations surrounding Fisher and Phillips or did not remember them.
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"I certainly wasn't aware of where it was being held. That was never made an issue. I imagine most of the guys don't really even know who Gene Phillips is. If it's not some current event, it's hard to keep track of who people are,” Rep. Ron Peterson said. "That was a little bit old news, I guess. It's hard to keep everybody in your head all the time.”
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Who made the trip?
Traveling in the small bus to the fundraiser were Case, Cargill, Peterson, Rep. Gus Blackwell, Rep. Mike Jackson, Rep. T.W. Shannon, Rep. Colby Schwartz and former state Sen. Scott Pruitt, who shortly afterward became Huckabee's chairman in Oklahoma.
Also at the fundraiser were Rep. Rob Johnson, Gary Jones, lobbyist Bobby Stem and Enid attorney Stephen Jones.
Blackwell said Case and Stephen Jones organized the trip.
Case and Stem work as lobbyists at a firm called Capitol Gains. Stem lobbies for American Reserve Life Insurance Co. where Phillips' son is a top executive.
The House members told The Oklahoman they did not contribute to the Huckabee campaign at the fundraiser. They said they were impressed by Huckabee.
"I thought he was pretty impressive, an extremely nice guy. He gave a very uplifting speech and a very heartfelt speech,” Jackson said. "He's a genuine person.”
The Washington Post has pointed to the fundraiser at Phillips' home as an example of how Huckabee aides have had little time to research the backgrounds of his new supporters. The Post noted Huckabee did not know until told by a news reporter that Phillips had been fined $850,000 by the Securities and Exchange Commission and once faced a federal bribery indictment. Phillips was acquitted in the criminal case at trial.
Huckabee's state chairman, Pruitt, said he has not been made aware of any criticism of Huckabee involving the December fundraiser.
"There was a tremendous diversity of people there,” he said.
Phillips' attorney, Stephen Jones, said, "He's a voter. He's a citizen. I don't know of anything that excludes him from hosting politicians who want to come to his house. ... What's the guy done that's wrong? You can't measure by some subjective standard.”
Stephen Jones, who is politically active and on the state Republican finance committee, said he did not pay to bus the legislators or arrange for it.
The attorney confirmed he was listed as one of the hosts on invitations and said the event raised about $300,000.
The attorney called the bribery charge against Fisher "garbage” and said if state prosecutors had any evidence against Phillips, they would have indicted him.
"They didn't,” he said.
Case did not return phone calls for this story.
Got this from Colby Schwartz today...
