TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Former Florida House Speaker Ray Sansom's lawyer has denied all ethics allegations made against his client by a special investigator for the chamber.
The attorney, Richard Coates, also wants a special House committee to put off action until criminal charges against Sansom are resolved.
He responded to the allegations and asked for the delay Friday in a letter to the panel's chairman, Rep. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton.
Sansom, R-Destin, is facing trial later this year on charges of official misconduct and perjury. He is accused of funneling millions to a state college that then gave him a $110,000 job and then lying to a grand jury.
Galvano's committee is examining an ethics complaint stemming from the same allegations and could expel Sansom, who already has given up his speakership and the college job.
The committee will hold an organizational meeting as scheduled on Aug 4, and the panel will decide whether to delay its proceedings, Galvano said.
He said one factor that would have to be considered is the likelihood Sansom would refuse to testify by invoking his Fifth Amendment right against being forced to make self-incriminating statements.
Galvano had asked Sansom to respond to House investigator Steve Kahn's findings that the lawmaker eroded public faith and confidence in the chamber.
Coates' one-sentence response was that Sansom denied the allegations.
He offered no details, but the response was sufficient, Galvano said. He said he just wanted a guilty or not guilty response similar to a plea at an arraignment.
