Oklahoma House lawmaker faces sexual harassment allegations. Committee recommends he resign.

After hearing testimony behind closed doors earlier this month, the House Rules Committee on Thursday took the unusual step of recommending that state Rep. Danny Williams, R-Seminole, be censured for “disorderly behavior” and face a number of other consequences.

Williams immediately called the decision “unfair.”

But House Speaker Kyle Hilbert said while he said he can’t force Williams to resign or end his bid for reelection, he planned to implement the rest committee’s recommendations. Those included that Williams be permanently stripped of all committee assignments and leadership positions, that he not be assigned a legislative assistant and that he have no one-on-one contact with House staff. Williams will also be asked to complete 80 hours of “approved sexual harassment training and toxic workplace training” at his own expense, half of which need to be completed before Legislature next convenes in February, but Hilbert said he cannot enforce this. 

The committee also recommended that Williams be formally reprimanded by the full House when they next convene.

Hilbert, R-Bristow, would not discuss specifics of most of the allegations, but he said one incident involved allegations that Williams urinated in a cup after hours and then left it on his assistant’s desk. Multiple witnesses confirmed it was urine by smell, he said. 

After the meeting, Williams said he had “not broken any rule or any law” and that he maintained his innocence. 

“I was told that I was not eligible for due process,” he said. “I couldn’t challenge people that accused me. I couldn’t deal with false statements. I mean, there have been some statements made about me that I have never done in my entire life, but I have no way to deal with that and to me, that’s unfair.”

After making those brief remarks to the media, Williams, 77, did not answer questions. He attended the meeting Thursday with his attorney to listen to his colleagues vote on the series of actions designed to curtail his influence.

Williams – who Hilbert said was only one of two people present working late that night – has previously denied the allegation that he urinated in a cup. 

The committee alone does not have the power to compel Williams to resign nor not seek reelection, but the full House could vote to expel him with a two-thirds vote. 

Williams is up for reelection and faces Democrat Blake Cummings on the Nov. 3 ballot. It was not immediately clear if Williams would continue seeking reelection, but the deadline has passed to remove his name from the ballot. 

Hilbert said Thursday that he had already temporarily taken some of the actions recommended by the committee. 

While Hilbert said the specific details of the allegations against Williams remain confidential to protect the anonymity of those who reported him, Hilbert said the claims were all substantiated and there were 11 witnesses who participated in the investigation, as well as electronic evidence. There were also additional witnesses who chose not to participate. 

“I think one of the most frustrating things about this is just not acknowledging what has happened, or not having remorse and just kind of doubling down,” Hilbert said. “Because I think with a lot of these things, remorse would have went a long way. But unfortunately, that was not the choice that he chose to make, and so here we are today.”

Hilbert said his office and House staff made the best decisions possible with the information they had at the time in order to “uphold the integrity of the Oklahoma House.” 

Hilbert said it’s up to the constituents of House District 28, which includes parts of Seminole and Pottawatomie counties, whether they want to reelect Williams. 

“We have made public as best as we can the conduct of Rep. Williams, and now the decision of whether or not he should be a member is in the hands of the voters of that district, and they will have that decision in a few weeks,” he said.

Hilbert said he is also encouraging both Democrats and Republicans to offer increased workplace behavior and sexual harassment trainings at their respective caucus retreats. 

“I hope if any good comes from this incident, it is that members take these situations very seriously and are aware and act appropriately in support,” Hilbert said. 

Timeline of the investigation

The first HR complaint against Williams was presented to the Speaker on May 18 and interviews with witnesses began two days later. Those revealed more instances of improper behavior and more people that needed to be interviewed, Hilbert said. Hilbert said he and Rep. Anthony Moore, R-Clinton, met with Williams on May 26. 

At this point, Williams would have been terminated if he were a private employee but the Oklahoma Constitution does not allow the speaker to unilaterally fire a legislator, Hilbert said. 

An outside law firm was then hired to investigate the claims against Williams in addition to the House’s internal HR investigation. The report, which Hilbert said he received July 22, prompted him to refer the situation to the House Rules Committee and inform all chamber lawmakers of the situation. 

The reports have not been made public. 

“It was clear upon reading this report that there were several substantiated claims of inappropriate behavior by multiple victims, and I will also say these were not he-said, she-said,” Hilbert said. 

The Rules Committee, led by Rep. Mike Osburn, R-Edmond, previously met behind closed doors for a total of 13 hours earlier this month to discuss the findings of investigations into Williams and what actions they would take. 

Rep. Andy Fugate, D-Del City, who sits on the committee, in a statement Thursday thanked Hilbert for his “quick action.” 

“If any business in this state had an employee face the same accusations as Rep. Danny Williams, he would be terminated,” he said. “Unfortunately, the House of Representatives is limited by its rules, procedures, and the reality of an election just weeks away. The action taken today was all we had available, but it was not enough. The House employees who came forward deserve better, and so do the people of Oklahoma.”

Another ethical investigation

Allegations of potential misuse of state resources by Williams also surfaced during the House’s internal investigation, Hilbert said. 

Hilbert said he asked a former attorney with the Oklahoma Ethics Commission to conduct an investigation into the matter. He said he received the report on the matter in July and his office referred the matter to the Ethics Commission. 

Neither the report nor the contents of the complaint have been made public, but the Ethics Commission voted Aug. 13 to open a formal investigation into Williams. The investigation is still ongoing. 

Lee Anne Bruce Boone, executive director of the Ethics Commission, said in a text to Oklahoma Voice she could not share more details about the investigation. 

“We are working diligently on a serious matter, recognizing that it is of public interest and an election is upcoming,” she said. 

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