CNMI Attorney General Edward Manibusan, following a long-held suspicion that Ralph Torres used public funds to pay for his defense while in office, is asking the Superior Court to allow his office to depose the former governor.
“The OAG procured documents related to Mr. Torres procurement of numerous attorneys to represent him and his office while Governor,” chief solicitor J. Robert Glass, Jr. wrote in his July 5 Motion for Deposition of Ralph Torres in court. “The OAG believes that Mr. Torres does not come before this Court with clean hands and believes a deposition is required in order to fully ascertain the facts and circumstances of Mr. Torres procurement of attorneys while governor of the Commonwealth.”
If granted, this will be the first time – known to the public – that the former governor will ever be forced to answer for any of his conduct as the governor before a tribunal.
“Mr. Torres himself procured numerous attorneys during his tenure as Governor of the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas,” the motion states.
The motion arises from a civil case Mr. Torres filed in Superior Court against the Department of Finance and the Office of the Attorney General for the court to invalidate the AG’s contract with the special prosecutor in the Torres criminal case. It is the former governor’s attempt to kill the criminal prosecution against him.
According to a separate Motion to Dismiss the Torres petition in the civil case, Mr. Glass says the Torres legal team “improperly brought the OAG into the suit.” The former governor, among other things, lacks standing, “as he has not been aggrieved by the contract.”
And that’s because the special prosecutor was appointed by the attorney general, a power the AG inherently has under the CNMI Constitution.
“Thus, Mr. Torres is being lawfully prosecuted by one who rightfully wields such power and he therefore, lacks standing on the basis that he is being unlawfully prosecuted,” Mr. Glass wrote.
The civil suit by Torres appears to be a massive miscalculation, as it has opened the door for the attorney general to move to depose Mr. Torres about his attorneys.
“During his time as governor, Ralph Torres sought and procured numerous attorneys and government contracts utilizing the same procurement regulations he now accuses the OAG of violating,” Mr. Glass’s motion to depose Mr. Torres states. “In order to bring such a claim, Mr. Torres will need to have not himself violated such procurement regulations.”
Legislators and others from the political opposition to Torres have long suspected Mr. Torres used public funds through sole sourced contracts or direct payments to hire attorneys to represent himself and others during his impeachment trial.
“While the documents from the Department of Finance and the Office of the Governor may provide some insight into the procurement of his attorneys, there are still many questions that only Mr. Torres himself can answer in regards to his procurement and payment of attorneys to represent him and the Office of the Governor in his numerous legal battles over the past years,” Mr. Glass argued in his motion.
6 Comments
Dame Edith Shitwell
07/07/2023 at 10:38 PM
This headline is the best double entendre in the history of the entire universe.
Troy Torres
07/08/2023 at 3:53 PM
I didn’t realize it until I wrote it. Then smiled.
Dame Edith Shitwell
07/08/2023 at 9:52 PM
Words certainly can have multiple meanings, can’t they! It reminds me of the time my Gr– I mean Tinder date invited me to his beach house for a day of watersports. Thank heavens I brought my towel!
elkapitan
07/09/2023 at 11:10 AM
About time this AG gets off his butt (golf course) and hopefully starts to do his job in so many backed up cases.. (I wonder when he will get around to the MV Luta still unresolved case)
I can only suspect that this was initiated by this “special prosecuter” that has been hired now by the AG office to head up the newly created section to go after corruption.
It seems to take non connected outsiders to initiate getting things done in many areas.
BUT it still remains to be seen if a jury will convict and just what, if any meaningful sentence would be handed down by these judges in such high profile cases.
Even as such past as an example involving Fitial’s conviction, if my memory is correct, he was sentenced to only one year, which means he would have had to serve only 1/3 of his sentence even as it was well known that then Gov. Inos intended (did) to pardon him. So not one day in confinement
Troy Torres
07/09/2023 at 3:24 PM
El Kapitan, may you educate me on the story? I’m in the dark here. Please pardon my ignorance.
elkapitan
07/15/2023 at 10:18 AM
So Troy, is any investigations ongoing on that request and the info that I supplied you?
I noticed all was taken down sometime before the end of the following day. I assume that was for you and your team to look into the situations, or am I wrong?
still no response and updates from DPS.
Have a nice day.