GOP lawmakers return contributions

GOP lawmakers return contributions
By MICK HINTON World Capitol Bureau
1/17/2008

The money came from the son of a
controversial insurance firm owner.

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Three Republican lawmakers confirmed Wednesday that they will be returning unsolicited campaign contributions from Bradford Phillips, the son of controversial Texas insurance company owner Gene Phillips.

Rep. Jeff Hickman, R-Dacoma, and Rep. Earl Sears, R-Bartlesville, both said they received checks for $600, and Rep. George Faught, R-Muskogee, received $645. The contributions came in late De cember.

The three are members of a House committee that approved legislation favorable to the Phillips family last spring.

Faught said that when he learned about the controversy surrounding the Phillips family, he decided to return the check. Sears, who had cashed the check, took $600 out of his campaign Tuesday and sent it to Phillips. Hickman said he was mailing the check back Wednesday.

"I returned the contribution; I just felt uncomfortable," Faught said.

House Speaker Lance Cargill and six other Republican lawmakers have confirmed that they recently attended a fundraiser for presidential candidate Mike Huckabee in the Dallas home of Gene Phil lips, who has been linked to former state insurance commissioner Carroll Fisher, who is now in prison.

The speaker and lawmakers have said they either did not realize where the fundraiser was being held or who Gene Phillips was.

Cargill said the fundraiser gave him an opportunity to talk with Huckabee.

Fisher, who is serving a three-year prison term for embezzling money from his campaign, also is accused of accepting $25,000 and other gifts from Phillips, his family and business associates in exchange for favorable treatment of their insurance companies.

Last spring, Bradford Phillips tried but failed to get legislation passed that would have lowered the amount of assets that insurance companies have to show before being allowed to do certain business in Oklahoma.

The legislation contained a key amendment sponsored by Rep. Greg Piatt, the speaker's House majority leader. Piatt, R-Ardmore, received a $5,000 contribution in June from Bradford Phillips, state Ethics Commission records show.

Sears recalled Wednesday that when the legislation was pending last spring, Bradford Phillips took the members of the House Economic Development and Financial Services Committee to dinner at The Ranch Steakhouse in Oklahoma City. Campaign contributions of as much as $5,000 and dinners bought by lawmakers are not illegal if they are reported.

Faught is vice chairman of the committee. Hickman and Sears are members.

Faught said that when the contribution came in, he didn't connect that Bradford Phillips was the one who had sought legislation benefiting his family's insurance companies.

"I prefer to get contributions locally," he said.

Hickman said Wednesday that although he was chair man of the Insurance and Retirement Subcommittee, the legislation that Phillips wanted had bypassed his subcommittee and went directly to the committee led by Rep. Ron Peterson, R-Tulsa.

Representatives who attended the Dallas fundraiser besides the speaker included Peterson; Gus Blackwell, R-Goodwell; Mike Jackson, R- Enid; Rob Johnson, R-Kingfisher; Colby Schwartz, R-Yukon; and T.W. Shannon, R-Lawton.

Former lawmaker Bill Case, who is now a lobbyist, said this week that he rented a bus and took the lawmakers to the Dallas function.

Case, who ran unsuccessfully for insurance commissioner, is a lobbyist partner with Bobby Stem, who represented Phillips at the Capitol in trying to get the legislation passed.

Stopped in the hall at the Capitol, Case said taking the lawmakers to the fundraiser was "very innocent."

"Then all of a sudden it is a media frenzy," he said.

Mick Hinton (405) 528-2465
mick.hinton@tulsaworld.com

RED FACE GOP Legislators Return Campaign Contributions

Three Republican lawmakers confirmed Wednesday that they will be returning unsolicited campaign contributions from Bradford Phillips, the son of controversial Texas insurance company owner Gene Phillips.

The AP reports
Rep Jeff Hickman and















Earl Sears and









George Faught

are returning $600 donations given by Bradford Phillips, son of Dallas real estate developer Eugene Phillips. Representative George Faught is returning $645 to the younger Phillips.


For More Info Click Here
and here

Gary Jones and Legislators scrutinized over event

Legislators scrutinized over event

By Nolan Clay and Randy Ellis
Staff Writers
Sun January 13, 2008

House Speaker Lance Cargill and six other state Republican legislators attended a Mike Huckabee fundraiser in December at the Dallas home of a businessman who allegedly bribed Oklahoma's then-insurance commissioner, The Oklahoman has learned.

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.”

(COME ON ANYBODY BUYING THIS LINE)

Most of the legislators and Gary Jones said they were not aware of the accusations surrounding Fisher and Phillips or did not remember them.

(COME ON ANYBODY BUYING THIS LINE)

"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.”

(COME ON ANYBODY BUYING THIS LINE)

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.

Oklahoman doing story on Phillips fundraiser

Reporters Nolan Clay and Randy Ellis of The Sunday Oklahoman has a lengthy article about the Mike Huckabee fundraiser at the Dallas home of controversial businessman Gene Phillips that was attended by numerous Oklahoma Republican legislators, including House Speaker Lance Cargill.

They will list all those from Oklahoma who attended and have statements from most of them.

Cargill told the reporters he was invited to the event by a lobbyist for insurance companies controlled by Phillips and his son, Brad, former State Rep. Bill Case, unsuccessful candidate for insurance commissioner in 2006. Cargill said he didn't know the event was being held at Phillips' home.

Hat Tip to Mike @ The McCarville Report Online

(Phillips figured in the controversial end of Democrat Insurance Commissioner Carroll Fisher's term in office. Fisher left office after questions were raised about his acceptance of office furnishings from Phillips and his associates. Phillips was interviewed twice by investigators from the attorney general's office, the grand jury's legal adviser, and Phillips' business associates were subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury. One associate appeared before the grand jury twice. Stephen Jones, Phillips' Enid attorney, was successful in fighting efforts to force to appear.)

For more background click here

Ok GOP House members attend a fundraiser at the home of a scandal-linked businessman

Huckabee gathering is raising hackles
By MICK HINTON World Capitol Bureau
1/12/2008

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Several Republican House members, including Speaker Lance Cargill, attended a fundraiser recently in the home of Texas businessman Gene Phillips, who has been linked to convicted former insurance commissioner Carroll Fisher.

Phillips was hosting the fundraiser for Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee.

Fisher is serving a three-year prison sentence for embezzling $1,000 from his campaign and lying on a contributions report.

He also is accused of accepting $25,000 and other gifts from Phillips, his family and business associates in exchange for favorable treatment of their insurance companies.

Fisher has said the money was a loan.

Cargill said Friday that he went to the fundraiser at the invitation of a former colleague.

"I was not informed where the event was," he said. "As it turns out, it was at his (Phillips') home."

Cargill said he looked at the event as a chance to visit "with the person who has a legitimate chance to be president of the United States."

Rep. Danny Morgan, who leads the House Democrats, said Friday, "When I heard this, I was floored.

"It looks very suspect that the speaker would allow himself and members of his caucus to be involved in a fundraiser with an individual allegedly involved with Commissioner Fisher," Morgan, D-Prague, said.

Rep. Gus Blackwell, R-Goodwell, said Friday that "it never clicked" in his mind when he and others went to Phillips' home Dec. 18 to attend the fundraiser.

Other Republican lawmakers who attended were Reps. T.W. Shannon of Lawton and Mike Jackson of Enid. Three other GOP lawmakers reportedly were at the fundraiser.

Phillips' son Bradford Phillips tried unsuccessfully last session to get an Oklahoma law changed that would have allowed the family's insurance companies to put up fewer assets when making real estate loans.

State Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland strongly protested the change, which was approved in committee but did not make it into law.

The amendment was carried by House Majority Leader Greg Piatt, R-Ardmore, who received a $5,000 contribution from Bradford Phillips in June, state Ethics Commission records show.

Holland noted that Gene Phillips was linked to an anonymous Web site that showed up during her 2006 election bid. Although it did not name Holland, the Internet campaign ad featured a silhouette of her.

"Yes, he (Phillips) was linked to the Web site and he was the gentleman linked to one or more indictments against the former commissioner," Holland said at the time.

Meanwhile, Shannon said Friday that he went to the fundraiser not knowing that questions had been raised about Phillips.

"I learned all of this after the fundraiser," he said. "It was just a chance to get to see Mike Huckabee."

Stephen Jones of Enid, who has been Gene Phillips' attorney, was one of the co-sponsors of the event.

Regarding the Oklahoma lawmakers' attendance, Jones said: "I saw some of those boys. They were all Huckabee supporters."

Jones estimated that 250 to 300 people were at the fundraiser, held at Phillips' pool house. Other reports put attendance at 100 to 150.

"Phillips has a beautiful home, and he knows how to entertain," Jones said, noting that many functions are held there, although not usually political ones.

"There's nothing wrong with it," he said.

Mick Hinton (405) 528-2465
mick.hinton@tulsaworld.com


(Phillips figured in the controversial end of Democrat Insurance Commissioner Carroll Fisher's term in office. Fisher left office after questions were raised about his acceptance of office furnishings from Phillips and his associates. Phillips was interviewed twice by investigators from the attorney general's office, the grand jury's legal adviser, and Phillips' business associates were subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury. One associate appeared before the grand jury twice. Stephen Jones, Phillips' Enid attorney, was successful in fighting efforts to force http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifPhillips to appear.)

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Coming: More On Cargill/Jones going to The Phillips-Huckabee Event

Hat Tip to Mike @ The McCarville Report Online

The Dallas fundraiser in December for Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee at the home of controversial businessman Gene Phillips attracted numerous Oklahoma Republicans, including House Speaker Lance Cargill and Oklahoma State GOP Party Chair Gary Jones, and now that event is attracting considerable media attention in Oklahoma City and Dallas. Phillips and his son, Brad, had an interest in Oklahoma legislation in the 2007 session that reportedly would benefit insurance companies they control.

(Phillips figured in the controversial end of Democrat Insurance Commissioner Carroll Fisher's term in office. Fisher left office after questions were raised about his acceptance of office furnishings from Phillips and his associates. Phillips was interviewed twice by investigators from the attorney general's office, the grand jury's legal adviser, and Phillips' business associates were subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury. One associate appeared before the grand jury twice. Stephen Jones, Phillips' Enid attorney, was successful in fighting efforts to force Phillips to appear.)

Oklahoma Legislators Attended Gene Phillips' Fundraiser For Republican Mike Huckabee Part 3

After posting part 2, last night Okie Campaigns receive two phone calls and 1 email from GOP member of the House, adding more to the background of the story.

Oklahoma State Republican Chair Gary Jones, also went to the December 18, 2007, Huckabee fundraiser, held at the 13-acre Dallas estate of Gene and Roxanne Phillips.
See 'When will Oklahoma State
GOP Chair Gary Jones
jump the Shark'

And Speaker Lance Cargill, was also ID in the pictures of the Dec 18, event.


First a Big Think You and Hat Tip to Mike @ The McCarville Report Online for Breaking this story. For part one of this story click here

For part two, click here

(Phillips figured in the controversial end of Democrat Insurance Commissioner Carroll Fisher's term in office. Fisher left office after questions were raised about his acceptance of office furnishings from Phillips and his associates. Phillips was interviewed twice by investigators from the attorney general's office, the grand jury's legal adviser, and Phillips' business associates were subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury. One associate appeared before the grand jury twice. Stephen Jones, Phillips' Enid attorney, was successful in fighting efforts to force Phillips to appear.)

Ok Legislators Attended Gene Phillips' Fundraiser For Republican Mike Huckabee Part 2

Oklahoma Legislators Attended
Gene Phillips' Fundraiser
For Republican Mike Huckabee Part 2

First a Big Think You and Hat Tip to Mike @ The McCarville Report Online for Breaking this story. For the start of this story click here

On December 18, 2007, A fundraiser was held at the 13-acre Dallas estate of Gene and Roxanne Phillips.

(Phillips figured in the controversial end of Democrat Insurance Commissioner Carroll Fisher's term in office. Fisher left office after questions were raised about his acceptance of office furnishings from Phillips and his associates. Phillips was interviewed twice by investigators from the attorney general's office, the grand jury's legal adviser, and Phillips' business associates were subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury. One associate appeared before the grand jury twice. Stephen Jones, Phillips' Enid attorney, was successful in fighting efforts to force Phillips to appear.)

From The McCarville Report Online:

Those in attendance included Irving Mayor Herbert Gears and several members of the Oklahoma Legislature

After making many phone calls tonight, Okie Campaigns, has learned that Stephen Jones and 2007 GOP Insurance Commissioner Candidate Bill Case, arranged for the Oklahoma GOP House members to go the Dec. 18, Huckabee event at the Phillips 13-acre Dallas estate.

We also have a pictures of the Dec 18, event. One can clearly see Speaker Pro Tempore Gus Blackwell, Assistant Majority Floor Leader Mike Jackson, and Assistant Majority Whip T. W. Shannon in it.