Oklahoma judge says suit over Tar Creek audit can proceed

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – A district judge has ruled a lawsuit can go forward seeking the release of an investigative audit into the cleanup of the Tar Creek Superfund site that Oklahoma’s attorney general wants to keep secret.
Oklahoma County District Judge Patricia Parrish on Friday denied a motion from Attorney General Mike Hunter seeking to dismiss the lawsuit filed by Washington, D.C.-based Campaign for Accountability.
The public watchdog group is seeking to make public an audit into some of the millions of taxpayer dollars spent cleaning up the heavily polluted site in northeast Oklahoma.
Former Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt and now Hunter have both refused to release the audit. Hunter says the release of an investigative audit that didn’t lead to criminal charges could “tarnish the reputation of innocent Oklahomans.”