Texas Attorney General Subpoenaed in Leach Records Fight
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A new showdown in the battle to get Texas Tech University to finally release records they’re hiding about the firing of Coach Mike Leach is heading to court.
Dolcefino Consulting has issued a subpoena for the sworn testimony of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Texas Tech is trying to block the planned deposition.
Court documents filed by the university claim Dolcefino Consulting is on a “fishing expedition.” Of course, in the Dolcefino Consulting v. Texas Tech University lawsuit, the Office of the Attorney General is defending Tech. Simultaneously, the Office of the Attorney General is also ruling on our requests for documents under the Texas Public Information Act and our complaints over ridiculous costs for Texas Tech records.
“This isn’t fishing and Texas Tech and their pals at the Attorney General’s Office know it,” says Wayne Dolcefino, President of Dolcefino Consulting, “We want Ken Paxton to explain under oath the blatant conflicts of interests in this case. The Office of the Texas Attorney General is Tech’s lawyer and also the agency we are supposed to complain to about Texas Tech. The law is absurd. In what other legal fight do you have to ask for help from the other side’s lawyers to get to the truth?”
Dolcefino Consulting has filed multiple complaints with Paxton’s office over cost estimates from Texas Tech for certain public records. Since this fight began, Tech has tried to charge more than $415,000 for requested records. Their latest cost estimate was $4,400 just to see how many free tickets the members of the Board of Regents get to Texas Tech’s sporting events.
The subpoena for Ken Paxton followed the sworn deposition of Justin Gordon, the head of the Open Records Division of the Texas Attorney General’s Office. The question? Where do you complain if the Texas Attorney General sides with the government agency trying charge unreasonable fees to see requested records?
“I’m not aware of the next steps a requestor would take to challenge,” Gordon told our lawyers. Gordon claimed he “didn’t know” twenty-two times in his testimony.
“This is a search for answers, and if Gordon doesn’t know, then it is logical to go to his boss to get the answers. Gordon’s boss is Ken Paxton,” says Dolcefino.
Dolcefino Consulting has repeatedly called on the Texas Attorney General to recuse itself from defending Texas Tech. For more than two years, Tech has been hiding records involving the firing of Coach Leach ten years ago. The university has used the lawsuit to try to hide records of sexual assaults, sexual harassment, even how much money the university system lost in the Bernie Madoff scandal.
The motion to quash the deposition is not yet set for a hearing. Stay tuned.
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