Former Cabinet member files lawsuit

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – A former Governor Kevin Stitt cabinet member is making good on his word to sue former Attorney General Mike Hunter.

David Ostrowe is accusing Hunter of maliciously and falsely indicting him for attempted bribery — those charges later dropped after Hunter resigned last year.

Ostrowe is also suing the Oklahoma Tax Commission, alleging they worked in concert with Hunter to criminally indict him and tarnish his reputation.

Back in June 2021, Ostrowe, the former Oklahoma Secretary of Digital Transformation and Administration, publicly announced his intention to sue Hunter.

“We are all victims when unscrupulous people in power abuse that power,” he had said.

The former Stitt cabinet member officially filed his lawsuit for damages on Thursday — accusing Hunter, along with Oklahoma Tax Commissioners Charles Prater, Clark Jolley, and Steve Burrage of maliciously prosecuting him for attempted bribery of an officer.

In December 2020, Hunter said that Ostrowe committed attempted bribery “by directing Oklahoma Tax Commissioners Steve Burrage and Charles Prater to waive the interest and penalties of JCG Futures, LLC, which were owed to the State of Oklahoma and if not compliant with this directive, appropriations to the Oklahoma Tax Commission would be withheld.”

These charges were dropped after Hunter resigned in May 2021.

In his lawsuit, Ostrowe said Hunter and tax commissioners Prater, Jolley, and Barrage, “never had probable cause to accuse, indict, arrest, confine and prosecute Mr. Ostrowe in the criminal proceedings.”

Ostrowe is suing for violations of the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act, malicious prosecution, abuse of process, libel, slander, and intentional infliction of emotional distress, among other causes.

In June 2021, he told KFOR why this case would be necessary, saying “the time is now to stand up against those who use their political and legal influence to benefit themselves and damage others for their own personal gain.”

KFOR reached out to the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office and the Oklahoma Tax Commission about the lawsuit, and both say they cannot comment on pending litigation.