Source Tells of Lawyer’s Lunch With Judge Kent
An anonymous source told the Galveston Daily News that embattled U.S. District Judge Samuel Kent had lunch with a lawyer suing oil giant BP in October 2006 a short time after he ruled for the lawyer on a deposition request.
Kent had ordered BP’s CEO to sit for a deposition regarding a Texas oil refinery blast, then jumped in the Aston Martin of the lawyer, Tony Buzbee, to go to lunch, said the source, who claimed to be a witness, the newspaper says.
Neither Buzbee nor Kent’s lawyer, Dick DeGuerin, were able to confirm whether the lunch took place. But if it did, they said, there was nothing improper about it.
“Tony Buzbee’s always been a good friend of Judge Kent,” DeGuerin told the newspaper. “He doesn’t favor lawyers because of friendship.”
Buzbee said his favorite lunch place in 2006 was Willie G’s at Galveston’s Pier 2, and he probably ate there every single day that year, with Kent maybe a half a dozen times, and with other judges. “I’ve probably brought all the judges in town there at one time or another,” Buzbee told the newspaper.
He said it would be ridiculous to think a federal judge would rule for him in exchange for a $30 lunch. “If there is something wrong with it, you might as well indict every lawyer and every judge on this island,” he said.
Kent is currently under investigation after accusations that he sexually harassed a female employee, a claim he denies. The FBI has broadened its probe beyond those accusations and has been interviewing restaurateurs about Kent’s meals with lawyers, the Daily News reported in a previous story.
A hat tip to How Appealing, which posted the story.
Topics: Career & Practice
Victims of sex assault should not have to disclose it when applying for bar admission, House says
Your Voice
Hidden Talent Pool in Plain Sight: Corporate America wants you—for nonlegal roles
Podcasts
