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Lawmaker: UT Regent's Silence "A Slap In The Face"

The chairman of a House committee mulling impeachment of embattled University of Texas Regent Wallace Hall says it's a "slap in the face" that he refuses to testify.

Hall didn't attend an investigative hearing Wednesday over whether he misused his office in an attempt to force out Austin campus president Bill Powers. That decision drew bipartisan rebuke from a legislative panel that will recommend whether to oust Hall.

Among the allegations facing Hall is that he abused open records laws by requesting more than 800,000 pages of documents to investigate Powers, who has helmed UT's flagship campus since 2006.

Hall's attorney told the House transparency committee that his client won't testify because of "confusion" about lawmakers' intentions. Republican Dan Flynn, who co-chairs the panel, called the letter offensive.

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