Terrill Comments on Bribery Charges

Embattled State Rep. Randy Terrill (R-Moore) made his first public comments regarding bribery charges filed against him by Oklahoma County DA David Prater. The following press release was issued today.

 Terrill Comments on Bribery Charges

Democrat District Attorney David Prater has charged me with offering a “bribe” to induce Senator Debbie Leftwich to withdraw as a candidate from a political contest. [1] He charged me despite the fact that Senator Leftwich never filed as a candidate [2] it was impossible for her to withdraw from an election she never entered [3] and in the 21 page "Affidavit of Probable Cause" hasn't offered a shred of evidence that I ever made an offer to give her anything.

The preceding filed against me is purely a political take-out maneuver without any factual or legal justification.  I am innocent, I’ve done nothing improper, and I'm confident I will be exonerated.  But the whole point of filing the charge is simply to damage me politically, and I seriously doubt there is even an expectation that it will succeed as a matter of law.  For my opponents, however, if they can abuse the process by forcing me to take a mug shot for the front page of the Oklahoman, then they will sadly consider that a victory.

Merry Christmas, best wishes always and God bless!

For The Republic,

Rep. Randy Terrill

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[1] 26 O.S. Sec. 16-107 of Oklahoma’s Election Code prevents giving a thing of value to a “candidate” to “withdraw” from an election.
[2] 26 O.S. Sec. 5-101 of Oklahoma’s Election Code defines a candidate as person who has filed a Declaration of Candidacy.
[3] 26 O.S. Sec. 5-115 of Oklahoma’s Election Code details the specific time, manner, and procedure that allows a candidate to withdraw his candidacy.  These requirements are not synonymous with simply failing to file a Declaration of Candidacy.

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