Carleton president Roseann Runte must provide a testimony in former Virginia state delegate Philip Hamilton’s case, U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson ruled April 23.
Hamilton pleaded not guilty to American federal bribery and extortion charges. He is accused of arranging a $40,000 annual salary for himself as director of a new teacher training centre at Old Dominion University (ODU).
He allegedly discussed attempts to secure funding with several ODU administrators, and received a total of $80,000. However, an internal audit at ODU revealed there was little record of any actual work accomplished as director of the centre.
Runte was president of ODU at the time and attended two of her three scheduled meetings with Hamilton, though she said she had no knowledge of Hamilton being hired.
In legal papers filed on her behalf, Runte said that as president of Carleton University she has a full schedule of meetings and events. The motion requesting that Runte be excused from deposition noted she was too busy to testify, since changing her schedule would “greatly inconvenience [her] and negatively reflect on the university.” However, Hudson denied her plea, according to The Virginian-Pilot.
Hamilton’s lawyer, Andrew Sacks, filed a notice to take Runte’s deposition April 29 in her Ottawa office, before the trial begins May 2. Her testimony will be videotaped for use during the trial, The Pilot reported.
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