Kreeper Krems' $25,000 fine, and the Return of Chairman Ferate
Gentle reader,
-We had this in the can for tomorrow, but additional things have come up that we will write about separately, and wanted you to have this important news-
Yes, we have not written for a while, and some of you have reminded us of that, but it follows our goal to write less this year. Sorry not sorry. But an amazing thing has happened during our time away: The birth of a white buffalo has occurred. Such a birth is the most sacred event in the native american culture. The arrival of a white buffalo is considered both a blessing and a warning. You can decide what the blessing and the warning are about, but in honor of the arrival we are bestowing our intern with the titled name "White Buffalo," as we are sure that he will bring both blessings and warnings to you all. Welcome White Buffalo!
Let's start with the $25,000 fine received by Kreeper Krems.
We'll start with the facts that are without question:
In 2020, David Tackett, using a corporation called "Vote Smart, Inc." gave $50,000 to a dark money group Jonathan Krems operated as treasurer. It is unknown if, as a corporation, he paid taxes on the money that he sent to Krems.
The money was funneled through Tackett by Kay County's Cavalry, Brian Hobbs, from his cousin's organization, Charter School behemoth EPIC. (yes, that EPIC) (A court testimony admission is the source of this point)
The dark money group, "Make Oklahoma Great Again," was registered at the Federal Election Commission.
But the race highly intelligent dumbass Krems was supporting was that of a State Candidate, That Dude Wendy Stearman.
A federal PAC cannot be used to support a state candidate unless also registered with the state ethics commission. This one was not.
Krems sent all but $5,000 to a UPS storefront in Casper, WY for mail on behalf of That Dude Wendy Stearman (reported to the FEC)
Krems has been under investigation for this by the Oklahoma Ethics Commission for four years.
Krems signed a settlement agreement with the Ethics Commission last week that includes a fine of $25,000 and bans him from disparaging the Ethics Commission.
The $25,000 must be paid by PERSONAL FUNDS FROM KREMS in $1000/month payments until 2026. Actual settlement, with his signature, can be found here.
Kreeper is screwed. Either the guy didn't know what he was doing when he filed at the FEC, or he did know, and was trying to hide what was going on. So he's an idiot, or unethical. Or both. But those of you that have told us dark money is bad better not take up for Krems on this, claiming that he had good intentions. He didn't. He used Fount Holland's tactics to Wendy Stearman's advantage, except he didn't know what he was doing. And the action figures let this guy be the OKGOP attorney under John Bennett. Have fun with those payments, buddy! Does the Ethics Commission give you a payment book of stubs that you have to send in for something like that? Fines from the ethics commission like that are rare and saved for the most unsavory operators, which Krems now has on his record.
We only heard of the Dewey Bartlett Trust
in the past week. But it's a real thing that is operated by a formal board of directors. It has one asset: a building at 4031 N. Lincoln Avenue that the Oklahoma Republican Party operates out of.
No, the OKGOP does not own the building, the trust we just described does. Among others, members of the trust include the Chairman and Vice Chair of the OKGOP. And last week, the trust met last week at A.J. Ferate's office and did four things things: 1) made it nearly impossible to sell the building and use the funds for anything but a new building, 2) strengthened the group's allowance of proxies, 3) added seats to the board for the Governor, Lt. Gov., both U.S. Senators, and the most senior member of the House of Reps (Frank Lucas), and 4) Elected A.J. Ferate as a board member and as the Chairman of the board for four years.
Each vote was reportedly unanimous. During the John Bennett years, there was a desire to sell the building by the action figures. This vote by the trust means that if the Action Figures take over the OKGOP chairmanship as expected next year, they won't be able to sell the building and use the funds to survive, it will all be on them to raise money. AND if they can't raise enough money to pay rent, Ferate will be able to evict them. Wow, that's quite the turn of events. The best part of this is that the State Committee can't do shit about it. The Action Figures thought they were on the cusp of achieving full and total control, but they did not. Sorry about that. We never thought we'd say this, but we welcome your return, Chairman Ferate; your return offers us hope!
Wow, that was a lot! And fun! Let's do it again soon!
With love,
CW/CM/SC/WB
