NonDoc: Prater Says He’s ‘Not Done’ With Hofmeister Case
DA Prater on Joy Hofmeister case: ‘We’re not done’
By William W. Savage III, NonDoc.com
While Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater dropped charges today against state Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister and four political operatives, the case remains under investigation.
“We’re not done,” Prater told NonDoc Tuesday. “We’ve had information come to us over the last several months regarding one or more of the defendants that we need to follow up on before we take the case to preliminary hearing.”
Hofmeister, leading GOP political strategist Fount Holland, former Oklahoma Education Association director Lela Odom, former Cooperative Council for Oklahoma School Administration director Steven Crawford and political consultant Stephanie Milligan were all charged with conspiracy and violation of the Oklahoma Computer Crimes Act in November.
Hofmeister was also charged with two counts related to state campaign rules. All counts were felonies.
The investigation stems from Hofmeister’s successful 2014 candidacy for the state’s top education post. She, Holland, Odom, Crawford and Milligan were all alleged to have conspired for the creation of a “dark money” campaign to support her candidacy over that of incumbent Janet Barresi in the Republican primary.