POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY, Okla. (KFOR) – Allan Grubb, the district attorney of Pottawatomie and Lincoln counties, wants a grand jury tossed after an allegedly leaked memo revealed that the grand jury recommended the DA be removed from office amid multiple allegations of misconduct during his tenure in office.
Grubb was previously under fire for allegations of misconduct of his office’s finances; a group of district attorneys asked the State Auditor and Inspector to investigate his office’s finances, including the district attorney’s dealings with Deferred Prosecution Agreements, or DPAs, which allow prosecutors to strike up a monetary deal with offenders in return for no charges or jail time.
In the newly filed Accusation for Removal, a grand jury accused Grubb of neglect of duty, oppression of office and corruption throughout his tenure.
The embattled district attorney is set to leave office at the end of the year after losing the election in June. But the Grand Jury wants him out now. In the document filed Friday, the Multi-County Grand Jury is requesting Grubb’s immediate suspension, pending the trial for the accusation for removal.
But his attorney told KFOR the allegations aren’t true.
“What this is right now is an accusation,” said Grubb’s attorney Robert Gifford.
Gifford said the Grand Jury document was leaked Thursday; he said the leaked copy of a grand jury document was provided to the attorneys by a third-party for Grubb.
This document has not been filed with the court, but contains the signature of the grand jury foreman.
However, the Attorney General’s Office disputed the claim in emails and a phone call to KFOR Friday.
“I wanted to make sure you all had the facts. Consistent with the statutes, the accusation for removal must be read in open court in the presence of the jurors, which it was yesterday. Once that happens, the document and information is public,” said Rachel Roberts, Director of Communications for the Office of the Oklahoma Attorney General.
KFOR asked Ms. Roberts for more information on those claims but has not received a response yet.
“The first time that I’ve received something is from a third-party attorney who [got] it from a reporter,” said Gifford.
“We’ll probably litigate when this was disclosed,” he continued.
“They didn’t investigate this case. They are just relying on people who are upset because they got fired,” he added.
Gifford said while his client is not facing criminal charges, they still want their day in court, along with a jury trial.
“[Allan Grub] is entitled to a jury trial,” said Gifford. “And thankfully, we’re going to have jurors who get to hear the other side of the story.
“The only thing that we’re asking is we’re asking that the state of Oklahoma follow the law. The rule of law has to have some meaning.”
DA Grubb will have a chance to make his argument regarding the Grand Jury’s authority at a hearing scheduled for August