Inhofe stays out of Ivory Coast election fray

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe says a top official at the State Department asked him to intervene in the aftermath of a disputed election in the Ivory Coast but that he declined to do so. Inhofe, R-Okla., tells The Oklahoman's Washington Bureau he did not act on the request. He says he told Donald Yamamoto, a principal deputy assistant secretary at the State Department, that he would not speak to then-President Laurent Gbagbo. Inhofe says that is because he was not assuming Gbagbo had lost last year's election.

The State Department declined to answer The Oklahoman's questions about the request for Inhofe to intervene. Inhofe has frequently visited the Ivory Coast and other nations in Africa. He says he is "probably the most knowledgeable person about Africa in the U.S. Senate."