Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters dismissed allegations of naked women being shown on his office TV during a board meeting as an “outright lie” and suggested that the state’s Republican governor may have directed board members to make up the story.
“What we’ve seen transpire over the last five days is the nastiest, biggest lie ever lodged at an official in Oklahoma,” Walters said at a press conference Tuesday, according to a local ABC affiliate.
“This has been a coordinated attack to crucify my character and to try to stop the will of Oklahomans and their vision of education in the state of Oklahoma,” he continued.
Walters then suggested that Gov. Kevin Stitt (R), whom he has clashed with for months, directed board members to fabricate the story.
“These board members have a lot to answer for, and so does the governor of the state of Oklahoma,” Walters said. “Did he direct these board members to lie about me?”
Last week, Oklahoma State Board of Education members Ryan Deatherage and Becky Carson said they saw nude women on the TV while they were in Walters’ office for the meeting, according to NonDoc.
Walters has denied the allegations, arguing that no devices were used to stream to the television and he was unaware of what was on the TV.
“Any suggestion that a device of mine was used to stream inappropriate content on the television set is categorically false,” he said in a statement over the weekend. “I have no knowledge of what was on the TV screen during the alleged incident, and there is absolutely no truth to any implication of wrongdoing.”
Lawmakers are demanding more information and an investigation has been launched.
At Tuesday’s press conference, Walters falsely claimed that he has been cleared of any wrongdoing.
A statement from the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office issued less than an hour before the press conference said that the “investigation is still in its infancy, so it would be inappropriate to discuss who we plan to speak with or any evidence we are seeking.”
