A Kentucky appeals court has delved into the case of an ex-state employee refusing to comply with Gov. Matt Bevin's investigation into a no-bid contract awarded by his predecessor.
The case focuses on the subpoena power of the state's finance and administration secretary. The former state worker, Frank Lassiter, has refused to comply with a subpoena for documents and testimony in connection with the probe into the no-bid contract.
Lassiter won in a lower court, prompting an appeal by the secretary of the Finance and Administration Cabinet. A three-judge panel of the Kentucky Court of Appeals heard arguments in the case Wednesday.
Lassiter's lawyer says the secretary's subpoena power doesn't extend beyond the executive branch. An attorney for the cabinet says the subpoena power extends to any witness with relevant information to an investigation.