The Tulsa World
August, 15, 1983
Draper Denies Anything Illegal About His Actions
By Rob Martindale
Of the World Staff
MUSKOGEE – House Speaker Dan Draper Wednesday said he gave $500 to Barney Girdner Jr., saw a notary public with voting documents in a back room of a country store, and mailed more than 30 absentee ballots in his father’s 1982 legislative race.
But, the 43-year-old Stillwater Democrat told an eight-man, four-woman U.S. District Court jury, there wasn’t anything illegal about his actions.
Draper and House Majority Leader Joe Fitzgibbon are on trial on charges they conspired with Girdner and notary public Faye Newton to falsify Adair Count ballots in his father’s race.
The defense rested its case Wednesday on the eighth day of trial and U.S. District Judge Frank Seay said closing arguments will be held Thursday.
The jury, he said, will get the case Thursday afternoon or Friday morning depending on how long it takes to prepare the judge’s legal instructions to the jury.
U.S, Attorney Gary Richardson said he might put one rebuttal witness, rumored to be a former Draper aide, on the stand Thursday morning.
In denying the government’s conspiracy and mail fraud accusations, the matter-of-fact Draper gave testimony similar to several key prosecution witnesses.
However, there were two notable differences.
-Draper, as some witnesses have implied, said he didn’t see ballots being illegally voted in the back room of the Girdner grocery store south of Stilwell.
-Draper’s own testimony included the first disclosure that he mailed between “30 and 40” absentee ballots given to him at the grocery store the night of Sept. 14.
However, he said, the ballot jackets were sealed and he was told they had been properly marked and signed by the voters.
He said the notary public had been instructed to meet him at the grocery store at 5 p.m. to make trips to houses in southern Adair County to collect signed and voted absentee ballots.
The House speaker said he arrived at the grocery store two ours late and Mrs. Newton was there. He said he was told she already made two trips with members of the Girdner family and he went with her on a third.
Draper is charged with conspiracy and 10 counts of mail fraud in connection with this father’s unsuccessful candidacy in a Sept. 21 House District 86 runoff election.
Draper said he never plotted with Fitzgibbon, his top lieutenant in the state House, and couldn’t have conspired with Mrs. Newton.
The House speaker said the Sallisaw notary public was obtained for him by an acquaintance and he had never met her before they were introduced at the grocery store on the night in question.
Draper said he was aware of newspaper stories that vote fraud was being probed in the Adair County area, but didn’t know Girdner was the target of U.S. Investigators.
He said he contributed $4,119.11 to his father’s campaign in the primary and runoff elections.
Girdner was among six losing candidates in the eight-man primary field supporting Draper’s father, the jury was told.
Girdner has pleaded guilty to the vote fraud conspiracy count in return for the government dropping several other charges and agreeing not to prosecute his wife and son.
Defense attorneys have charged that the government over-reacted to Girdner’s disclosure he worked in the Draper campaign when it sought the grand jury indictment against the House speaker.
In surprising government testimony last week, Girdner told the trial jury he personally knew of no wrongdoing by Draper.
The House speaker said he gave the $500 to Girdner for campaign expenses in the elder Draper’s election bid.
“You don’t know if he spent it on that or just spent $50 and pocketed $450 do you?” prosecutor Richardson asked Draper.
“I have no idea,” Draper answered.
Draper said he saw absentee ballot packets in the back room of the store and Mrs. Newton “appeared to be completing the notarization” of them.
Did you inquire about that.” Richardson asked.
“No,” Draper answered.
Under brief questioning by his own attorney, Green, Draper at one point answered “no” to over 10 questions inquiring if he was involved in a conspiracy or instructed anyone to improperly vote and/or notarize absentee ballots.
Draper said he asked former state Rep. Bob Parris to locate a notary public for him in Sallisaw in Sequoyah County.
He said he didn’t seek out a notary public in Stilwell in Adair County because he didn’t personally know any attorneys there and most of the businessmen with notaries public were backing his father’s opponent, school official Larry Adair.
Earlier Wednesday, Dan Draper II, the House speaker’s father, told the jury he didn’t believe his son was involved in any wrongdoing
He said the speaker had told him during the campaign to “keep it clean.
Apparently under orders from Judge Seay, the government didn’t ask Draper about drunken driving charges pending against him in Oklahoma City or his admission that he once had a Las Vegas gambling problem.
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