PAWHUSKA, Okla. – Osage Nation Attorney General Jeff Jones filed a formal ethics complaint against the tribe’s chief Wednesday.

According to the complaint, on May 31, Chief John Red Eagle called an investigator with the attorney general’s office and threatened to fire him if he did not stop a pending inquiry into a tribal employee.

The complaint also contends that on May 29, Red Eagle ordered the tribe’s gaming board to pay for a member’s travel in full after deciding not to due to budget constraints.

Under the tribe’s ethics law, government officials are prohibited from using or attempting to use their position to give preferential treatment to individuals or special interest groups. The ethics law also bans government officials from using their position to influence government decisions and actions for private gain.

Red Eagle refuted the allegations in an email to the Native Times Friday afternoon.

“I absolutely deny the allegations that anything unethical has occurred, and look forward to defending this vigorously,” he stated.

Potential penalties for violating the Osage Nation Ethics Law include fines, a public reprimand, removal from office and disqualification from all elected and appointed tribal government positions.

As of Friday morning, a hearing for the complaint has not been scheduled. An employee with the Osage Nation Court Clerk’s office could not provide a timeline for when the complaint will be placed on a docket.