AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A spokesman for Oklahoma's governor says then-Texas Governor Rick Perry called in 2013 and asked about a years-long investigation into a Tulsa surgeon who was a Perry donor.
Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin spokesman Alex Weintz said Wednesday that Perry contacted Fallin and "asked her to look into" an investigation of spinal surgeon Steven Anagnost.
Weintz says Fallin's general counsel subsequently contacted Oklahoma's medical board and said it should "either take action or let it go."
Anagnost was accused of serious violations involving 23 patients. But after the counsel's call, the 3-plus-year investigation was dropped.
Word of Perry's intervention was first reported by The Dallas Morning News and The Frontier, a Tulsa-based investigative news website.
The head of Oklahoma's Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision did not return messages seeking comment.