Rogers County Clerk Sues Claremore Newspaper, Reporter

The Rogers County clerk is suing the Claremore Daily Progress and one of the newspaper's reporters for invasion of privacy for stories published July 2012-August 2013, court records show.

County Clerk Robin Anderson claims the Daily Progress published misleading information about her job performance "and in some instances wrongly implicated her in criminal wrongdoing," the paper reported on Friday.

The newspaper says the stories at the center of the lawsuit were written by Salesha Wilken and detail Anderson's alleged involvement in the administration of $13 million in funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. According to the Daily Progress, the state auditor reported noncompliance during the administration of the grant funding and believed invoices were falsified.

Anderson also claims Wilken lied last year when she reported that requested public records were withheld by Anderson's office. Anderson filed a separate harassment complaint against Wilken when the reporter requested minutes from a public meeting, the newspaper says.

Anderson is seeking exemplary and punitive damages in excess of $75,000.

To read the full story on the Claremore Daily Progress website, click here.