In a memo to Oklahoma legislators, the state Office of Management and Enterprise Services says it “cannot determine definitively whether or not an incident took place” involving images of naked women being shown on a television set in state school Superintendent Ryan Walters’ office during a state Board of Education meeting.
The document, obtained by The Oklahoman on Tuesday, July 29, sheds light on how the agency's investigation began, how that inquiry has unfolded and what officials have found so far. The OMES memo contains no language clearing Walters, though he insisted multiple times Tuesday that he had been cleared by the agency.
“We are currently awaiting further word from the Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office” about the next steps in the investigation, the memo reads.
The memo says three sheriff’s deputies joined OMES officials on a visit Monday to the Oklahoma State Department of Education’s offices inside the Oliver Hodge Building, located in the Capitol complex.
According to the memo, they found:
• The television had cable access, streaming services, was connected to an empty DVD player and was equipped with a dipole antenna.
• The television was connected to the state's open WiFi network.
• A one-time passcode was required to access screen casting to the television, limiting the number of people with casting ability to the device.
• The search history on the television was empty.
• The television previously belonged to a former education agency employee and was relocated to the superintendent’s office earlier this month. The employee’s account was still connected to YouTube TV but under a new IP address.
• Due to the hundreds of preloaded apps on the television, the streaming services were not given a full review as the television remained onsite.
• Walters told them that on board meeting days, many staff members, board members and the public could access his office.
According to the memo, Walters contacted OMES on Monday “and asked OMES to examine equipment at OSDE.” The only device it was asked to examine was a 55-inch Samsung television in Walters’ office. The memo makes no mention of other devices used by Walters, such as a laptop computer or cell phone.
OMES said in the memo it can only review technology at an agency’s request, unless it’s directed otherwise by the Legislature, law enforcement or the court system. OMES also said it “cannot review other state or personal devices without permission from that agency and/or individuals.”
During a news conference Tuesday, Walters said multiple investigations had showed his "devices were never connected to that TV."
He also deflected a question about the TV's content streaming capabilities, describing it repeatedly as "cable TV."
He exited the news conference without saying if he’d granted the sheriff’s office or OMES permission to examine any other devices. According to the memo, OMES was informed that wireless hotspots are used in Walters’ office during board meetings, but that it could not independently verify that information. OMES can only monitor state wireless networks, the memo says.
The memo says a board member filed a written complaint regarding the content that they said they saw on the television. That board member is Becky Carson of Edmond.
Carson and a second board member, Ryan Deatherage of Kingfisher, told The Oklahoman on Friday they saw images of nude women while the board met behind closed doors in Walters' office on Thursday. The state board was in Walters' office for an executive session to discuss teacher licensing, student attendance appeals and other sensitive issues.
Walters, who chairs the board, has forcefully denied knowing about or being responsible for the content on the television.
“Any suggestion that a device of mine was used to stream inappropriate content on the television set is categorically false," he said. "I have no knowledge of what was on the TV screen during the alleged incident, and there is absolutely no truth to any implication of wrongdoing.”
According to the memo, Carson's complaint includes a “request that (Walters’) computers, personal devices and cell phones used by him at his office using government resources be preserved to ensure any pornography be preserved.” The Oklahoman has filed an open records request with OMES for a copy of Carson’s complaint.
After receiving the complaint, OMES said it “then reached out to the Oklahoma County Sheriff and the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation out of an abundance of caution and in recognition that OMES is not a law enforcement agency and has no authority to investigate such matters.”
OSBI spokesman Hunter McKee told The Oklahoman on Monday that agency had also been contacted about the investigation and, “if there is something deemed criminal, we will be ready to help” the sheriff’s office if it asks for assistance.
At his news conference Tuesday, Walters said not only had he been cleared OMES, but also the Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office. A spokesman for the latter agency said no one had been cleared of wrongdoing and that an investigation into what happened is proceeding.
Walters accused Gov. Kevin Stitt of orchestrating the drama with the help of his four recent appointees to the Oklahoma State Board of Education, including Carson and Deatherage. Stitt and Walters, both Republicans, have been locked in a political feud for months.
Lawmakers reacted to Walters' statements Tuesday be reiterating their calls for an outside review.
"From the start, I have stated the need for a transparent third-party review of this situation,” House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, said in a statement. “Regardless of one's thoughts on the State Superintendent, he deserves to be treated as innocent until proven guilty, the same as anyone in this situation. As Speaker of the House, my desire is to let the independent investigation play out and wherever that investigation leads, the House stands ready to take appropriate action, if any is needed."
State Rep. Andy Fugate, D-Del City – who’s no fan of Walters – said he didn’t know what to believe, with each side telling conflicting stories.
“In deference to the superintendent, he deserves a full and complete investigation that he needs to be a part of, a willing participant,” Fugate said. “If nothing else, he ought to be interested in clearing his name, instead of coming out and just attacking everybody else, whether he's blaming the governor, he's blaming school board members, he's blaming the ‘woke’ media. It doesn't matter. At the end of the day, the buck stops at his desk, and we want to know what was going on behind him.”
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Memo details early investigation into Ryan Walters' office TV content
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