Yesterday afternoon, The Oklahoman reminded us that David Boren still exists when they reported he will not face any criminal charges following that big brouhaha into accusations he inappropriately "kissed and touched" former students and colleagues.
Here are the details via a Rollin' Nolan Clay article in The Oklahoman_:
Retired OU President David Boren and a former OU vice president, Tripp Hall, will not face any indictments out of an investigation into sexual misconduct accusations made against them.
A special counsel overseeing the investigation made the announcement Tuesday morning in a news release.
"The OSBI investigation of David Boren and Tripp Hall has concluded," the special counsel, Patrick M. Ryan, said Tuesday. "As the appointed acting AG for this investigation, I have made the decision, after considering all relevant facts and circumstances, to not seek a Grand Jury criminal indictment relative to Boren’s and Hall’s alleged wrongful conduct while they were employed by the University of Oklahoma.
Well, look at that! The special prosecutor decided not to seek an indictment. Not to go all Regular Jim Traber on you, but I totally called this last year after Mike Hunter announced he was turning the investigation over to that special prosecutor.
Check this out:
All the investigation details have been turned over to a special prosecutor. I would say that’s actually a good thing for David Boren, as it will increase his chances of orchestrating a classic Oklahoma political cover-up. That has to be in the cards, right? He just needs to get his fall-guys lined up; reach some settlements; line the right pockets; and – outside of a permanently damaged legacy – everything should be good to go.
Okay, in all fairness, we have no proof or evidence that David Boren – one of the most powerful and creepy politicians in our state's history – used his political clout to wiggle out of sexual misconduct charges. It's just a baseless conspiracy that feels like a 100% real possibility when you take a deep look at how interconnected all the players in the case are.
That being said, I'm sure the special prosecutor had very specific reasons for not filing charges, right?
Ryan did not give any specifics in his announcement about the facts and circumstances that went into his decision. However, a number of the accusations against Boren are known to date back years, too long ago to seek an indictment under time limits on beginning a prosecution for sexual offenses.
Also, some of the accusations involve events in hotels in other states, outside the jurisdiction of Oklahoma prosecutors.
Oh, so Boren was basically cleared by statutes of limitation and state boundaries. Good to know.
Anyway, Boren's attorney Clark Brewster – the hotshot Tulsa litigator who's not in any way a weirdo – issued a couple of celebratory statements to the media. You can check them out below. I hope they're the last things we ever share about David Boren on this website. Well, at least until new sexual misconduct allegations surface in the future.
