State Superintendent Ryan Walters is currently facing two separate investigations. The first investigation, conducted by the Ethics Commission, is looking into allegations of campaign finance rule violations. On top of that, a second investigation has been launched to examine Walters’ support for President-elect Donald Trump on social media during the presidential election.
According to documents obtained by News 4, the Ethics Commission has approved a formal investigation. They have found reasonable cause to believe that one or more violations of the provisions have occurred.
According to the documents, it is alleged that Walters used social media accounts in his name as a state officer, as well as social media accounts in the name of a state agency, to advocate for the election or defeat of a specific candidate for an elective office. The Commission has provided the relevant facts and allegations pertaining to this matter.
You can find the official notice of investigation below.
In the letter, there were several examples of posts made by Walters to his X (formerly Twitter) account.
On his X account, Superintendent Ryan Walters uses his official state portrait as his profile picture.
In November, Walters posted a video of himself in his car on election day, which was one of the example posts listed by the ethics commission.
In a recent video, Walters proudly shares that she has just completed the important task of casting her ballot for President Trump. With enthusiasm, she encourages everyone to exercise their right to vote and support President Trump.
The Ethics Commission identified another post that caught their attention. In October, Walters shared a video on his X account, showcasing an interview he had on Fox Business Network.
In a video, Walters claims that Kamala Harris poses the biggest threat to the U.S. economy, as well as to our parents and children.
In October, Walters appeared on the show ‘Fox and Friends’ where she discussed the southern U.S. border. A video of her speaking was also shared in a post.
In a clip posted on Fox and Friends, Walters criticized the administration, specifically Kamala Harris, for disregarding the crisis and failing to address the issue at hand.
In October, the Ethics Commission highlighted a post made by the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) on its official X account.
The post featured a captivating video showcasing images of President Biden and Vice President Harris. The accompanying text on the screen conveyed a powerful message.
“The Oklahoma Department of Education has notified the office of the Vice President, who is responsible for addressing the border crisis. The failure of the federal government to secure the border comes at a cost.”
After presenting a series of statistics on illegal immigration and border crossings, the video proceeds to state the following:
“We hold the federal government responsible for the creation of this predicament, thus they are accountable for its costs. Therefore, we request a reimbursement totaling $474,900,000.00.”
The Ethics Commission expressed concern regarding a press release sent by OSDE’s Director of Communications, Dan Isett, to news outlets in October. In the press release, Isett shared a statement from Walters regarding the war between Israel and Hamas.
In a press release titled ‘Walters Condemns Hamas War Against Israel,’ Walters expressed his strong disapproval of Hamas’ actions in the ongoing conflict. The statement was formally written on Walters’ official OSDE letterhead, emphasizing the seriousness of his condemnation.
Walters, in his statement included in the release, wrote the following:
Oklahomans are appalled by the brutal acts committed by Iran-backed Hamas against the Israeli people. It is clear that Oklahoma firmly supports our ally, Israel, and condemns these senseless acts of violence. Israel, as a sovereign and indivisible nation, possesses an absolute right to defend itself. I urge the Biden Administration to take immediate action in providing Israel with the necessary military assistance to address this alarming act of mass terrorism. While President Trump assured Israel of unwavering support from the United States, the Biden Administration is arming Israel’s adversaries.
In order to prevent Oklahoma schools from promoting terrorism as a valid method to achieve political goals, we are revisiting the standards. It is my sincere hope that all Oklahomans will come together in prayer for the people of Israel, wishing for peace and security to be restored to their land.
The ethics commission sent Walters a letter, informing him that they had “reasonable cause” to believe he may have violated campaign ethics rules. They suspected that Walters had used public funds to share those messages on his official state platforms.
News 4 recently reported on a separate Ethics Commission investigation into Walters, leading to this latest development.
The Ethics Commission is currently investigating Walters for potential campaign finance rule violations that allegedly occurred during his 2022 state superintendent campaign.
State Representative Forrest Bennett (D-Oklahoma City), a longstanding critic of Walters, believes that these investigations have been long overdue.
“[Walters] has gone way, way out of his scope just about from day one,” Bennett said. “I mean, it was pretty evident to all of us who have to abide by Ethics Commission standards and rules that that using official superintendent office, social media and the other trappings of the office like his emails and all those other things, letterhead—and using those to promote one political candidate over another. I mean at the House, even in sending out press releases, we have to be careful about how partisan we are.”
Even members of Walters’ own party, such as State Rep. Daniel Pae (R-Lawton), are not surprised.
“Honestly, with everything that’s transpired in the past several months, I’m not surprised,” Pae said. “In 2024, we saw time after time where Superintendent Walters was focused on trying to increase his name I.D. Many of the provocative instances were to generate headlines… When it comes to a matter of one’s ethics, we should be held to a high standard.”
So, what does all of this mean for Walters and her career?
“It’s tough to say how deep of water he’s in at this point,” said Tim Gilpin, a former Assistant Oklahoma Attorney General. “But no matter what you sure don’t want the state ethics commission investigating you.”
According to Gilpin, the outcome of the investigation by the ethics commission usually leads to the imposition of fines. However, in certain cases, the commission may uncover evidence that could be deemed as criminal.
“It could also catch the attention of the district attorney or the attorney general’s office with its findings and potentially provide that information to one of those entities,” Gilpin said.
Gilpin is particularly interested in the fact that the ethics commission, an agency that has historically been underfunded and understaffed, has initiated not just one, but two investigations into Walters simultaneously.
“Our ethics commission really hasn’t got the resources to go out on a limb,” he said. “So when they’re pushing the buttons on a politician, that usually means that they’re very concerned about it and they’re willing to go out on that limb. So it’s a big deal that the Ethics commission is doing multiple investigation into Mr. Walters, because typically they just don’t have the resources to do that for one reason or another.”