By Richard Engle

He had all the symptoms of a Hollywood type seeking to go about incognito. It was a bright, sunny and comparatively warm day in December. Most people were dressed in light jackets or sweatshirts. He was wearing a dark hat, black trench coat, and black gloves. He arrived at the electronics store in a non-descript fleet type Ford Taurus which only betrayed his anonymity by bearing a rare but self-serving bumper sticker. He walked with an atypical hunch, adding to the efforts at hiding his true identity. His labors to protect the mid-day shoppers from being distracted by the presence of a statewide elected official were successful, only because I was alone in knowing who he really was. I suspect they would not have known who he was, even if he came in with an entourage wearing lapel stickers and carrying political signs.

Drew Edmondson is a man with an exceeding sense of self. I can't say if he hid himself in plain sight out of concern that we would all be awestruck by his presence, or if he was concealing the fact that he was not at work during a time of day in which the public expects government employees to be working.

Drew Edmondson seems to be driven to achieve the level of success of his father, a ten-term Congressman, and his uncle who was a popular but only single-term Governor. One might wonder if it is some guise of populism that leads one so self-important to drive a small plain car with a large "Edmondson 2010" bumper sticker.

Drew Edmondson has a history of doing things that show he thinks himself to be above the common man and even above the law. Reports of his out of the ordinary activities begin with being caught as a peeping Tom outside his political opponent's home in Washington, D.C. during a race for Congress. Perhaps it was memories of his history of political espionage which inspired concealment under that dark hat.

He also repeatedly violated state ethics rules which were exposed by the fraud-fighting State Representative Mike Reynolds. Reynolds found that Edmondson had personally donated to numerous state candidates, only to have his campaign reimburse him. This after signing the ethics form swearing he would not be reimbursed for the contribution! Once exposed, Edmondson wrote a letter to the Ethics Commission admitting to the violation. It seems that Drew felt that his letter of admission would be best received if in proximity to a generous contribution of $3,000 sent to the Ethics Commission! Can it be suggested this "gift" could be construed to be a bribe? According to his campaign report which he later filed, Edmondson made the contribution with campaign funds, which would be another violation!

District Attorney David Prater has a complaint against Edmondson on his desk regarding the improper donations and reimbursements. Could it be that the trench coat wearing man was afraid he could be recognized for his admitted transgressions?

In the same letter to the Ethics Commission, Drew reveals violations of federal election laws. A complaint has been filed with the Federal Election Commission and the FBI! Is it possible that his efforts to hunch down while shopping in public are an attempt to evade federal officials?

As if to stick all Oklahoman's collective noses in the stench of his lawlessness, Edmondson has now been found to have acquired donations for his office in a manner that would embarrass former Insurance Commissioner Carroll Fisher. Drew was instrumental in getting Fisher out of office and convicted of his crimes, but his close ally Jeff McMahan (disgraced Oklahoma Auditor and Inspector) had to be prosecuted by federal law enforcement since Drew would not take action himself.

Now, at the new offices of the Oklahoma Attorney General there are plaques commemorating approximately 200 "Sponsors." These are businesses and individuals who presumably contributed on behalf of Drew's offices. How nice, certainly such donations by wealthy individuals, major corporations and law firms would have no ulterior motive for giving to the Attorney General's offices other than a civic desire to improve the state. They were directed to give through a complex conduit system so as to avoid technical violation of the law requiring full disclosure of gifts to the state. When inquiring minds sought to discover exactly what each of those entities had given, Drew referred them to the Centennial Commission as the actual recipient. The Commission has no record of the specific gifts and a Centennial Commemoration Fund Inc. is identified as a private (and secretive) entity that actually handled the donations. Technically, one could say that they never touched an item if they have gloves on! I suppose Drew might wear gloves even on warm days for such "plausible deniability." While the denials might be plausible, the history of Drew's behavior leads one to wonder. Drew has since rebuffed repeated communication from lawmakers seeking to know about the "Sponsors".

Edmondson, who is the state's chief prosecutor, doesn't seem to think anyone is able to prosecute him. He is too high and mighty to be brought down by mere mortals or the rule of law. One is reminded of the despotic French monarch's quote, "I am the state." Drew seems to follow in those tyrannical footsteps with what equates to "I am the law!"

It may be left to the voters to finally bring down the man who would be Governor. Edmondson faces a significant challenge in Democrat Lt. Gov. Jari Askins. If she fails to utilize the facts against him, then the Republican nominee certainly will. Some might suggest she do so to protect her party from certain destruction at the hands of Edmondson.nor at Least