Sarasota area Republican Congressman Vern Buchanan did not appear for a scheduled court deposition in Orlando on Monday because allegedly his attorney was sick.
But that's not stopping him from attending a fundraiser late Monday afternoon in Sarasota.
"I think it's disgraceful," Keith Fitzgerald, Buchanan's Democratic opponent replied to a reporter's question when asked what he thought of Buchanan going to a fundraiser as opposed to showing up at the deposition.
The attorney who is representing Buchanan's former partner in a lawsuit against him, Joshua Kon, tells The Hill that the congressman's failure to appear will now motivate him to move for contempt against Buchanan.
"He was pushing it off… I think this is definitely their plan," attorney Joshua Kon, who is working for Buchanan's former partner in a lawsuit against him, told The Hill. "It's actually why we're moving for contempt. If the court sanctions him for $5,000 or even $10,000 he doesn't care, he has the money. He'd rather get three months [until after the election] for $5,000. We want to hold him in contempt and force him to testify
This article appears in Jul 26 – Aug 1, 2012.