There are no legal grounds to keep private a video of Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz being questioned under oath about her qualifications to be attorney general, her lawyer said today.
Wesley Horton, who is representing Bysiewicz in a legal proceeding she hopes will resolve questions about her qualifications to serve as attorney general, withdrew a motion today to seal a video of a deposition given by Bysiewicz.
A spokesman for the attorney general’s office said he doubted that copies of the video would be available until Wednesday. The deposition took 10 hours over three days, concluding today.
The video shows Eliot Gersten, a lawyer for the Connecticut Republican Party, questioning Bysiewicz, a Democrat who was the front-runner for governor until she decided to run for attorney general.
Quoting anonymous sources, the Connecticut Law Tribune reported that Bysiewicz had to answer “deeply embarrassing questions.”
Bysiewicz was forced to file a lawsuit in February seeking a declaratory ruling about whether she has 10 years of active legal practice in Connecticut, a statutory requirement to serve as attorney general.
Bysiewicz has been a lawyer for more than 20 years, but she falls short of the requirement unless her tenure as secretary of the state is included.
Judge Michael R. Sheldon met with lawyers in the case today to determine if the case will be ready for trial next week, as requested by Horton.
Horton complained in open court today that Gersten took three days to question Bysiewicz during a deposition in the case, frequently asking irrelevant questions. Her deposition ended at 1 p.m. today.
The Connecticut Republican Party is an intervenor in the case.
Now, Horton said, Gersten is seeking a delay in the trial to conduct further depositions with Bysiewicz’s staff.
“Justice delayed is justice denied,” Horton said.
Gersten said he needs time to explore and corroborate Bysiewicz’s statements.
Bysiewicz is hoping to resolve questions about whether she meets a statutory requirement for the office before the Democratic nominating convention May 22.
Horton filed a motion Monday to seal the deposition, prompting The Courant to intervene.
After reviewing a motion by the newspaper, Horton concluded he had no grounds to keep the material private, he told Sheldon in open court today.