The Securities and Exchange Commission has asked a federal court to order Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford to answer their questions, according to a Bloomberg news report. In a federal court filing, the agency claimed that Langford had not cooperated in a Dec. 11 interview in Miami. The mayor had been subpoenaed there to testify, but during the deposition Langford cited an “unspecified” constitutional right not to answer the SEC’s questions.
Langford is one of five members of the last county commission who have been subpoenaed to testify to the SEC about a series of bond deals and interest rate swaps. At the time of the bond swaps, Langford claimed that the deals would save the county untold millions. In fact, the interest rate swaps have cost the county as much as $250 million in higher interest payments and fees to investment banks and consultants.
The SEC also wants the court to compel Montgomery investment banker and long-time Langford ally Bill Blount to answer its questions. Blount had been subpoenaed also by the SEC investigators.
Find the complete Bloomberg story here.
Popularity: 7% [?]
December 18th, 2007 at 8:44 am
The man is clearly good at math. His understanding of imaginary numbers is unparalleled.
January 2nd, 2008 at 2:16 am
Hey, imaginary numbers are… real.
As far as I’m aware, the only constitutional right someone has to refuse a judge’s order for testimony is the right against self-incrimination.