Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter (R) on Wednesday announced his intent to resign days after filing for divorce from his wife amid reports of an extramarital affair.
In a statement from his office shared with The Hill, Hunter said his resignation, effective June 1, comes as “certain personal matters that are becoming public will become a distraction for this office.”
“The office of attorney general is one of the most important positions in state government,” he said. “I cannot allow a personal issue to overshadow the vital work the attorneys, agents and support staff do on behalf of Oklahomans.”
“It has been a distinct and absolute privilege of a lifetime to serve as the state’s attorney general,” Hunter added. “I thank those who entrusted me to fulfill this role and I am very sorry that I will no longer be here.”
His office said the full resignation letter will be made available at a later date.
While the state attorney general’s statement did not specifically detail the personal matter that prompted him to resign, Hunter filed for divorce from his wife in Oklahoma County District Court Friday.
Cheryl Hunter, who had been married to Mike Hunter for 39 years, said in a statement to The Oklahoman, “I am heartbroken and my priorities are to take care of my sons, my daughter-in-law, my grandson and my parents.”
The Oklahoman reported that it had submitted questions to the attorney general Tuesday evening about an alleged extramarital affair that it had confirmed through sources familiar with the matter. The sources said that the alleged affair was with a state employee who did not work in the attorney general’s office.
Hunter was appointed to the state attorney general role in 2017 to fill the term of Scott Pruitt, who had left to serve as Environmental Protection Agency administrator under the Trump administration.
Hunter officially won election to a full term in 2018 and had planned to run for reelection in 2022.
The attorney general’s resignation comes as Oklahoma is involved in several legal efforts, including lawsuits against top opioid manufacturers.
In 2019, Hunter helped secure a victory for the state when a judge ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay hundreds of millions of dollars over its role in Oklahoma’s opioid epidemic.
Last January, he filed another lawsuit against McKesson Corp., Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen, accusing them of delivering more than 34 billion doses of narcotics to Oklahoma and the rest of the country between 2006 and 2012 and failing to flag suspicious drug orders.
Updated at 1 p.m.