Michael Karlis
District 10 Metropolis Councilman Marc Whyte (proper) as soon as labored at a legislation agency operated by legal professional Martin Phipps (left).
The general public pissing match between District 10 Councilman Marc Whyte and a former colleague turned adversary — controversial San Antonio legal professional Martin Phipps — took one other odd activate Tuesday.
After a half-hour government session, the citizen-appointed Ethics Overview Board unanimously voted to maneuver ahead with a listening to on an allegation from Phipps that the councilman abused his energy asking authorities to research the legal professional.
The listening to, which can happen at 7 p.m. on Aug. 14, will permit the board to query Whyte on his actions on April 26, the evening earlier than Fiesta’s King William Truthful.
In line with the police report seen by the Present, Whyte allegedly texted a member of the Bexar County Sheriff’s Workplace, advising that deputies ought to “look rigorously” into Phipps. Whyte despatched the message after his spouse, Lorien, who contacted him and warned that one in every of Phipps’ youngsters may need been in hassle, based on the doc.
Nevertheless, the message talked about within the police report seems to have vanished from Whyte’s cellphone and wasn’t included within the texts the councilman tuned over to the Ethics Overview Board, Phipps advised reporters following Tuesday’s listening to.
“Marc Whyte and his response — sworn beneath oath — that he had not texted the sheriff’s deputies is inconceivable,” Phipps advised reporters.
Phipps added that he and his staff imagine Whyte “altered” the textual content messages handed over to the board. The legal professional mentioned he now plans to request metadata from Whyte’s cellphone.
Whyte wasn’t current at Tuesday’s assembly, and his workplace wasn’t accessible for quick remark at press time Wednesday.
Councilman Whyte and Phipps beforehand labored collectively at Phipps’ former legislation agency, Phipps Cavazos PLLC. Nevertheless, the entanglements between the 2 males and their households do not finish there.
Whyte’s spouse, is the legal professional representing Phipps’ ex-wife, Jessica Joyner, in her youngster custody battle with Phipps.
Phipps maintains that Whyte abused his energy by sending the alleged textual content to Bexar County officers asking them to research what the legal professional alleges to be a bogus declare about his youngsters’s welfare.
Phipps has seen his share of controversy lately.
In 2021, Phipps was arrested by San Antonio police on claims that he harassed his second spouse, Brenda I. Vega. The 2 had been married for under 34 days, and Vega, who was working as Phipps’ authorized assistant, alleges that he “induced [her] to enter the wedding by duress.”
That arrest got here shortly after San Antonio legal professional T.J. Mayes and others from Phipps’ legislation agency resigned, citing a hostile office, as beforehand reported by the Present.
Phipps, who represented Bexar County in high-profile opioid litigation, additionally confronted different turbulence. His non-public jet was repossessed in 2020 after Phipps reportedly defaulted on a $1.7 million mortgage. Most just lately, Phipps has been locked in a authorized battle with Fort Price-based CDC Enterprises, which is in search of to evict his rooftop bar Paramour.
In the meantime, Whyte continues to be battling a December DWI cost.
Keep tuned.
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