An Oklahoma state Sen. Ralph Shortey (R-Oklahoma City) is in quite a bit of trouble. News that the Republican is being investigated concerning an incident at a motel with a teen boy has begun to spread out from Oklahoma.
Police are reviewing text messages purportedly exchanged between Shortey and the teenager as part of the investigation, The Oklahoman has learned. Police became involved because of concerns raised by a relative of the boy.
Cleveland County District Attorney Greg Mashburn confirmed Tuesday that he has received an initial briefing about the incident from a Moore police investigator. He said he is awaiting the investigator’s final report before deciding whether any criminal charges are warranted.
According to News Oklahoma, the incident took place last Thursday.
"On March 9 ... officers of the Moore Police Department were contacted in reference to a welfare check at a local hotel," Lt. Kyle Dudley told The Oklahoman. "Responding officers found a juvenile male in a hotel room which was also occupied by an adult male. The circumstances surrounding this incident are currently under investigation and no additional information can be released at this time."
Shortey rented a room at the Super 8 in Moore for one night, checking in on March 8 and checking out March 9, a front-desk manager said. "It says two adults registered," the manager said.
Police took pictures of the room Thursday, the manager said.
State Sen. Shortey is probably best known for the bill he wrote a few years ago that would outlaw the “potential” use of fetal tissues in food products. Yes. That happened. At the time state Sen. Shortey was reading misinformation off of a “pro-life” website that had posted an article claiming that this was the case. State Sen. Shortey was also an early Trump Republican. Here he is in May, saying this drivel:
Sen. Ralph Shortey (R-Oklahoma City) chaired Trump's campaign and said his policies - not his personality - should be reason enough to vote for him, specifically his knowledge of trade policy and finance.
"The best part of him is he's not owned by anybody," Shortey said. "He doesn't owe anybody political favors. He's extremely independent. He genuinely does care about the future of this country."
And here he is with everybody’s favorite hungover-looking rich kid.