This is the KGOU AM NewsBrief for Wednesday, July 5, 2023.
Election Audits
The Oklahoma State Election Board recently completed its latest post election audits. State election officials found no issues.
The audits include election results for a handful of dates over the course of the year - including the special election on March 7 - which asked voters about legalizing recreational marijuana.
Secretary Paul Ziriax says the audits prove Oklahoma voting systems are among the most accurate and secure in the nation. He says the state’s election results are in no way influenced by things like outside computer algorithms or phantom voters.
The results included two candidate-requested recounts of April 4th elections - including the Norman City Council Ward 5 race and the Guymon City Council Ward 3 race. The recounts confirmed the unofficial results for both of those elections.
The audit reports for the elections are available on the State Election Board’s website.
Clardy To Stay In Office
A southeastern Oklahoma sheriff allegedly involved in a taped racist and violent conversation will continue in office for now.
Attorney General Gentner Drummond said in a press release that he does not have the legal power to remove McCurtain County Sheriff Kevin Clardy.
In April, Clardy was recorded participating in a conversation that included scheming to kill local reporters and lamentations that lynching Black people is no longer legal.
After the recording surfaced, Gov. Kevin Stitt condemned Clardy and asked Drummond to investigate potential wrongdoing. Drummond concluded he can’t remove Clardy because it isn’t illegal for a public official to say something offensive. He urged Stitt to endorse a candidate for McCurtain County Sheriff, saying who serves as sheriff will ultimately be up to voters.
OU Researchers Federally Sentenced
Two married former OU researchers have been sentenced to federal prison for federal grant fraud.
Shaorong Liu and his wife Juan Lu were sentenced to serve more than three years collectively and to pay $2.1 million in restitution for giving false statements involving a grant from the Department of Energy.
Shaorong, who was a tenured Biochemistry professor at OU, along with his wife who was a research scientist in the same department, originally applied for the 2.1 million grant through their mutually controlled company MicroChem Solutions.
The money was then used for personal trips around the world, financing vehicles, paying off credit card and medical bills, and to fund entertainment and dining.
The couple, who were originally indicted in 2020 under conspiracy to commit wire fraud, were charged under the Trump-era China Initiative that investigated researchers and academics with alleged affiliations to the Chinese Communist Party. The couple is not explicitly accused of stealing technology for China.
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