Thread by @jtlarsen

NEW: After the Supreme Court gave tribes sovereignty over half of Oklahoma…

…Gov. Kevin Stitt quietly moved to prevent the tribes from gaining environmental regulatory control, @TiHuaChang found out:

tyt.com/stories/4vZLCH…

Publicly, Stitt and Sen. Jim Inhofe responded to the landmark ruling by pledging to work with Native American leaders to figure out the legal/regulatory implications of the Supreme Court’s seismic power shift.

Here are their press releases from July 20:

But on Aug. 3, Stitt privately told a farming industry group that he had asked Trump’s EPA to hand environmental authority over to the STATE...

…which would sidestep the Supreme Court ruling.

Ti-Hua found the audio:

Stitt said he didn't want tribes to be successful "at the expense of non-tribal businesses"...

...and said “the problem” with the Supreme Court’s ruling "is a couple of the chiefs I've talked to think it's fantastic, it's a great, it was a great day for their people.”

Of course, tribal control is no guarantee fossil fuel interests won’t still get what they want – some tribes are in desperate need of revenue…

…but some Native American environmentalists want to ban fracking and pursue other green measures.

But ultimately, none of this matters if the EPA agrees to Stitt’s request and gives environmental control to the state…

…an option that was created via a midnight rider attached to a 2005 bill by…

…Sen. Jim Inhofe.

indianz.com/News/2005/0097…

The EPA wouldn’t comment on what they’re going to do, but EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler used to work for…

…Sen. Jim Inhofe.

Read the @TYTInvestigates exclusive for more background and details from @tihuachang...

and follow him and check out his own thread on his story here:

https://twitter.com/tihuachang/status/1299688589530476544