A long-running feud between Oklahoma Treasurer Todd Russ and Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond spilled into public view in recent court documents that detail the escalating tensions between the two men over investments in the $2 billion Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust Fund, Oklahoma City.
In a petition filed April 15 with the Oklahoma Supreme Court, the TSET board asked for declaratory and injunctive relief from what it described as Drummond’s “improper interference” in obstructing investments it had approved with three fund managers totaling $220 million.
Russ, who is chairman of the TSET board, criticized Drummond for refusing to approve the investment agreements, claiming he does not have the authority to approve or reject contracts in which the TSET board wishes to enter.
“The people of Oklahoma voted to protect these funds from political interference,” Russ said in a news release April 17. “The attorney general’s attempt to override a legal investment process is a direct threat to the constitutional independence of the investment board.”
From Nov. 20, 2024, to March 5, 2025, the board approved a total of $100 million in commitments each to Neuberger Berman and Comvest Partners and a $20 million commitment to Humphreys Capital, according to the petition.
Drummond had concerns about legal provisions in the contracts involving choice of law and jurisdictional issues that he said would subject Oklahoma to the laws of the state of Delaware and the exclusive jurisdiction of courts in New York City.
In an email to Drummond, Russ complained that $200 million was “sitting idle when it could be earning profits to benefit Oklahoma.”
“I have an obligation as both a fiduciary and the state treasurer to see that all public dollars are up to lawful use,” he wrote in the email.
Russ was incensed that Drummond’s office, without his knowledge, had directly contacted Neuberger Berman to rework the contract, a move that Drummond’s general counsel, Bradley Clark, said was justified to prevent the Office of the Treasury’s “perpetuation of unlawful acts and outflowing damage to Oklahoma.”
“Your insistence on sending $100 million to out-of-state entities is one thing, but waiving the state’s rights and outsourcing Oklahoma to New York under Delaware laws, absent General Drummond’s approval, is another,” Clark said in an email to Russ.
In the court petition, Russ seeks a declaratory ruling that the TSET board, among other things, has sole authority to enter into contracts and other agreements with investment managers without the need to seek the attorney general’s approval. It also seeks to block the attorney general from attempting to void agreements, interfere with the execution of the agreements and communicate with other parties to the agreements.
The petition follows the TSET board’s decision at a special meeting April 11 to fire Drummond as its legal counsel. The board voted to accept as its special legal counsel two lawyers at law firm Hall, Estill, Hardwick, Gable, Golden & Nelson, which Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt had appointed to protect the rights and interests of the TSET board of investors in its dispute with Drummond.
The move to dismiss Drummond echoes Drummond’s removal of Russ from any decision-making role in a lawsuit filed in 2023 that challenged a controversial anti-ESG law known as the Oklahoma Energy Discrimination Elimination Act. Drummond blamed Russ for losing the lawsuit, which Drummond appealed in December.
Oklahoma District Court Judge Sheila Stinson blocked the enforcement of the controversial law in July, ruling that it was vague and violated the state’s constitution.
Drummond publicly accused Russ of poor judgment, saying in a news release that the legislation “would not be in this predicament” had Russ not insisted on using his preferred legal counsel to defend it.
“Just last year, you mishandled the enforcement and litigation around Oklahoma’s anti-ESG law,” Drummond said in a letter to Russ on April 17. “Oklahoma cannot afford another repeat. Compliance with Oklahoma laws relating to procurement processes and protecting Oklahoma’s interests, rights, and litigation claims must be at the forefront of your decision-making.”
