House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, emailed the entire House Caucus last month explaining he'd been made aware of a complaint against Williams, R-Seminole, early in the summer.
That launched a private 6-week investigation into the representative's behavior, then Hilbert referred the details to the House Rules Committee to consider Williams' expulsion from the legislature.
The story about Williams' alleged improper behavior was first reported in late July by NonDoc, a nonprofit news organization based in Oklahoma City.
Now, in an unusual move of disclosure, the Oklahoma Ethics Commission announced it's investigating as well. Commissioner and Vice Chair Adam Weintraub made the motion.
The commission is looking into conflicts of interest violations by Williams, based on the statement. Those surround Ethics Rules 4.1 through 4.23. See the full announcement below:
Details about Williams' actions are sparse, in part because the commission maintains confidentiality over ongoing investigations, but a spokesperson for Hilbert's office told NonDoc last month that the situation involved state employees reporting problematic experiences with an elected official.
And that lines up with what Hilbert had said in his email to House members.
"Based upon the findings of two separate investigations, one by our internal Human Resources Division and the other by the external firm, effective immediately, I have referred this matter to the House Rules Committee," Hilbert wrote.
"Our House HR Division and the external firm focused their fact-finding on alleged improper behavior towards House staff. However, during the investigation additional concerns of potential misuse of state resources emerged. The matter of use of state resources is likewise being reviewed to determine if it should also be referred to the House Rules Committee and/or the Ethics Commission upon completion of the investigation."
In the House Rules Committee, Rep. Mike Osburn, R-Edmond, is leading the review of both investigations separately from the Ethics Commission.
"This is not the first time the House Rules Committee has served this role, and I know my committee members will join me in these efforts as we determine the best next steps for Rep. Williams and the House of Representatives," Osburn told NonDoc.
