PAWHUSKA, Okla. – The Osage Nation Congress voted unanimously Tuesday morning to form a Special Committee of Inquiry to investigate multiple allegations against the tribe’s principal chief.

The first step towards potentially removing Principal Chief John Red Eagle from office, the motion from Congressman William “Kugee” Supernaw of Skiatook, Okla., includes 15 offenses for the committee to investigate, dating back to 2010 to present day.

With Tuesday’s vote, a member of the Osage Nation Supreme Court must select five members of Congress to serve on the committee within 10 business days. As per the tribe’s laws, the committee will meet in executive session to investigate the specific allegations against the accused. The committee will then present its recommendation to the Osage Nation Congress of whether sufficient grounds exist for a removal trial, which would be presided over by the tribe’s Supreme Court with the full legislature as the jury.

“We have reached a tipping point, a time when the actions of others force us to consider a measured and appropriate response of our own,” Speaker Raymond Red Corn said Monday while opening the special session. “We are in search of the facts. If a committee of inquiry is formed, we will find the facts and act accordingly.”

According to the 2.5-page written motion, the allegations against Red Eagle include:

— Interfering with an investigation of the Osage Nation Attorney General’s office on May 31, 2013.

— Attempting to have the aforementioned attorney general’s office investigation “terminated to give preferential treatment to an employee."

— Abuse of power to improperly influence the administration of the Osage Nation Gaming Enterprise Board by directing the board, or its employee, to pay for unauthorized expenses of Board member Randy Carnett.

— Abuse of power in April 2011 by attempting to improperly influence the decision of the Osage LLC Board by proposing the purchase of Pawhuska Dozer and hire Rod Hartness as its Chief Executive Officer with money appropriated by Congress while the appropriation law was still awaiting Red Eagle’s signature, implying that his signature on the appropriation law was contingent upon the board’s agreement to comply with the proposal.

— Abuse of power by attempting to improperly influence the Osage Minerals Council in April 2011 to require all oil producers who did not have their own equipment to give Hartness first right of refusal to do any site work if he did become the CEO of the Pawhuska Dozer Company.

— Refusing to uphold a tribal law that delegates “full and sole control over all Minerals Estate accounts” to the Osage Minerals Council. The law was enacted in October 2011 with a veto override. In February 2012, Red Eagle wrote to the council that the accounts’ management would remain with the tribe’s treasury instead.

— Abuse of power by attempting to improperly influence the CEO of Osage Casinos in June 2011 to pay Hartness to promote the tribe’s casinos across northern Oklahoma.

— Abuse of power by interfering in human resources’ personnel policies by prohibiting disciplinary action against one or more employees from January 2012 through February 2013.

— Abuse of power against the tribe’s newspaper, the Osage News, by withholding signatures and ordering signatures be withheld on travel requests and housing assistance documents in retaliation for articles from January 2011 through June 2013.

— Abuse of power by refusing to pay his campaign advertising costs to the Osage News after his 2010 election for more than 10 months, claiming he should not have to pay it since he was elected.

— Abuse of power by withholding at least one contract between the tribe and Hartness from both the Osage News and the Bigheart Times, a weekly newspaper based out of Barnsdall, Okla. Both newspapers filed formal requests under the tribe’s Open Records Act earlier this year after Red Eagle’s office refused to disclose the terms during a legislative committee meeting.

— Breaking tribal and federal law by using tribal funds to pay Paul Allen to maintain and develop the chief’s personal website, www.johnredeagle.com. The site was also used by Red Eagle’s campaign in 2010.

— Abuse of power by directly or indirectly authorizing Macy Williams to submit and be paid for fraudulent timesheets from January 2012 through July 2013.

— Abuse of power by authorizing Williams be placed in a job from January 2012 through January 2013 within the tribe’s counseling program that she was not qualified to have.

— Abuse of power by authorizing Williams to draw an annual salary of $35,000 while in a position with a lower pay scale from June 2012 through July 2013.

Four of the allegations have prompted separate civil actions against Red Eagle’s office. Oral arguments in the lawsuit by the Osage News over open records violations are scheduled for Thursday morning in tribal court. The first procedural hearing in an ethics complaint from the attorney general’s office concerning the first three counts is also scheduled for Thursday.

Red Eagle did not attend Tuesday’s vote. His office issued the following statement Tuesday afternoon:

“Recently I have been accused of abusing my authority. I assure you that this is not the truth. I look forward to having the opportunity to show that these allegations are unfounded.  I am certain that our process will be fair and reasonable as I continue to uphold our Osage Constitution and defend the Osage people. The Osage Nation is a developing government under a new constitution. It is an honor to serve my people at such an historical time.”