Investigator claims DA wrongly ordered probe of criminal justice reformers
Photo illustration by Sara Wadford; Shutterstock.com.
A fired investigator claims that Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater improperly ordered a probe into supporters of criminal justice reform.
The former investigator, William Muller, contends that he was fired by the DA’s office for refusing to continue the illegal investigation, report the Tulsa World, the Associated Press and KFOR.
Muller aired the allegations in a notice of claim that is a precursor to a possible wrongful termination suit. The notice was filed last week.
Muller claims that Prater ordered him to obtain a grand jury subpoena to get financial records for Oklahomans for Criminal Justice Reform and Kris Steele, the organization’s executive director and former speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives, and to obtain donation records for the American Civil Liberties Union.
Muller said he was fired after telling Prater that he found no evidence of criminality.
Prater told KFOR and the Tulsa World that the allegations are “ridiculous,” and he denies any wrongdoing. “There is a personal vendetta behind these allegations,” he told KFOR.
Prater said he can’t go into details because of legal restrictions on revealing why someone may have been terminated. “When I am lawfully able to do so, it will be clear to everyone as to why Mr. Muller was terminated,” he told the Tulsa World.
Muller’s lawyer, Robert Gifford, said there were no allegations that Muller did anything inappropriate.
