Both the current and former wives of embattled Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White will testify next week before a state panel that is considering whether to remove the Republican from office. So will Dan Parker, the chairman of the Indiana Democratic Party, which is pressing the case. And he’ll have to bring records with him that demonstrate when he first learned of the residency issues that he believes should disqualify White.
The Indiana Recount Commission made those decisions Tuesday afternoon at a hearing that precedes one scheduled for June 21, during which it will take eight hours of testimony on whether White should be removed from office.
The three-member panel, which includes two Republicans and one Democrat, also said it will allow television cameras into the administrative hearing and will stream the hearing online.
That goes against the wishes of Jim Bopp, White’s attorney, who had filed a motion last week asking that those cameras be barred from the hearing.
He said Tuesday that if embarrassing questions about the personal and sex lives of White, his wife, his ex-wife and others are asked, cameras might make those who are testifying uncomfortable.
Meanwhile, Carl Brizzi, an attorney for Michelle White, asked the panel to quash her subpoena and allow her to skip the hearing so that she does not risk incriminating herself, as two special prosecutors have indicated she is a target of their investigation into the matter.
That request, too, was denied by the panel. Its chairman, Thomas Wheeler, said she can cite the Fifth Amendment and decline to provide answers on a question-by-question basis.
Full Article: Recount Commission rejects defense motions in Secretary of State’s hearing » Evansville Courier & Press.