“I’ve got Jon Echols, too, … and he’s going to be the next attorney general, and what have you, so he’s got connections as well that he can help out if we need it.”
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK — Jon Echols cashed thousands of dollars in campaign checks from Rod and Sara Polston, the politically connected couple at the center of a potential criminal scandal and held onto the money for over a year. He only claims to have partially refunded the couple’s contributions on May 8, the exact same day a multicounty grand jury report exposed Polston bragging on a recorded jail call that he had Jon Echols “in his pocket” and, as the next Attorney General, Echols “can help out if we need it.” Echols didn’t give the money back because it was wrong. He gave it back because he got caught.
The timeline tells the story. Sara Polston, who was charged in 2023 and later convicted of a near-fatal drunk driving crash, donated $3,300 to Echols. He kept it. Rod Polston gave $3,300 last year and another $200 this year, with Echols happily accepting checks even as the scandal was building around his donor. On a December 2025 jail call, Rod Polston told his wife Echols had been “in the system for so long, he’s as well connected as they get” and would “be a good one to have on” if they needed help. That’s not a supporter. That’s someone who thought he was buying access and special treatment, and a 12-year career politician who took the money anyway.
Echols himself said it best this week: “Justice isn’t for sale.”
“Then why did he keep this money for over a year?” said Starling for Attorney General spokesman Tim Edson. “Why did he allegedly return it the day the report went public? And how many other insiders does Jon Echols have on his rolodex who expect a favor when they need one? Oklahoma deserves an Attorney General who enforces the law without fear or favor, not a 12-year Capitol insider selling access and favors.”
Jeff Starling is a practicing attorney, a businessman, and a pro-Trump outsider who has never taken a check from anyone trying to buy access to the justice system. On June 16, Republican primary voters have a clear choice: the career politician caught up in a corruption scandal, or the outsider who will actually drain the swamp and restore honesty and integrity at the Attorney General’s office.
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