ANADARKO — The status of the Kiowa Tribe’s impeachment proceedings remains in limbo.
Judge Shannon Edwards with the Court of Indian Offenses heard arguments for almost 90 minutes Wednesday morning on whether to issue an injunction, which would further prohibit the Kiowa Tribe’s legislature from continuing impeachment hearings against Chairman Matthew Komalty.
However, as of press time six days later, Edwards has not issued a ruling.
Komalty filed the request, citing concerns about COVID-19 exposure and that his due process rights would not be guaranteed. Among Komalty’s complaints were that he did not get advance notice of witnesses or any evidence that would be presented against him.
A temporary restraining order remains in place, barring the legislature from further action. Before the order could be issued and executed, the legislature conducted a two-hour impeachment hearing on July 30, which Komalty did not attend.
“It was not a criminal trial,” legislative counsel Gary Pitchlynn said. “He is a dually elected official. The legislature had an obligation to put enough evidence into the record.
“The chairman chose not to attend.”
Passed unanimously by the legislature in June, Komalty faces five impeachment counts, including allegations he violated the tribe’s constitution by spending CARES Act money without first getting a budget approved by the legislative branch or the Kiowa Indian Council, which is open to all Kiowas over age 18. A budget vote is scheduled for Aug. 22 and a separate injunction remains in place, thus preventing the tribe from spending CARES Act money without an approved budget.
While questioning legal counsel for both branches, Edwards expressed concerns about some of the procedures followed in the lead-up to the impeachment hearing but acknowledged that they were not necessarily fatal flaws.
“I’m concerned about the fact that what I see is that this is a working draft of the charges,” Edwards said. “That needed to be a formal draft included with the order instead of as an attachment. It is not clear to me that these are saying they’re articles of impeachment. It’s not clear to me from this order.
“These things can be corrected in short order.”