Long-held Suspicion Confirmed; Phipps Admits Jones Cheated Out Of '02 Election

Abstract company owner Steve Phipps testitifed Tuesday in the federal felony trial of Auditor & Inspector Jeff McMahan that McMahan's 2002 opponent, Gary Jones, was cheated out of the election due to rampant illegal donations to McMahan's campaign.

The exchange came, The Oklahoman's Tony Thornton reports, as Phipps, who has admitted he was the source of about $158,000 in illegal donations and gifts to McMahan and his wife, was testifying under questioning by prosecutor Gay Guthrie.

The prosecutor noted that, in 2002, Jones claimed he was "being cheated out of the election."

"Yes,” Phipps said.

"He was right, wasn't he?” Guthrie asked.

"Yes,” Phipps replied.

Jones, now Republican State chairman, also ran against McMahan in 2006 with the same result, and with many of the same allegations about the funding of that McMahan campaign.

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