Documents obtained by KOSU show Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt has retained outside legal counsel in an effort to advance contested gaming compacts with four Oklahoma tribes, and state legislative leaders didn’t know anything about it.

In a notice sent to Timothy J. Kelly, a judge in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia dated October 11, 2022, the attorneys retained by the governor cite the Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta ruling as a reason for wanting to dismiss a 2020 lawsuit by Citizen Potawatomi Nation, Cherokee Nation, Choctaw Nation and Chickasaw Nation. The four tribes were seeking to stop gaming compacts Stitt signed with four other tribes.