AG urges senate president to allow Flores’ subpoena bill to pass

The CNMI senate president had a misunderstanding of the functions and funding of the Office of the Attorney General, and the AG himself wrote to her to set the record straight and to ask her to allow a bill to be considered by the full Senate. That legislation – House Bill No. 23-22 by Marissa Flores – would give the AG the power to issue subpoenas. It is a basic power most state attorneys general have.

“I am writing to underscore the critical importance of House Bill No. 23-22 in combatting crime, curbing corruption, and safeguarding the interests of our citizens within the Commonwealth,” Edward Manibusan wrote to Edith Deleon Guerrero in a letter sent to her office late Friday.

Missing from the Commonwealth Code is any express power given to the AG to issue subpoenas for documents and witness testimony, even though the OAG has the obligation to investigate and prosecute crimes. Ms. Flores’ bill, which passed the House months ago and has been held back by Ms. Deleon Guerrero, will provide the clarity Mr. Manibusan is looking for.

“I firmly believe that embedded within our constitutional obligation to prosecute violations of CNMI law is the authority to conduct investigations and issue subpoenas to procure essential documents and witness testimonies,” he wrote in his letter. “By codifying these powers into law, we establish clear boundaries, crucial in maintaining an effective check-and-balance system within our government.”

“Our job here is to dig and find out what are the systemic problems. An elected AG has no subpoena power? I think that is a disgrace and embarrassing. We sit here talking about public corruption and yet for the longest time we never knew that the AG has no subpoena power,” Ms. Flores was quoted as saying in a story by Emmanuel Erediano in the Marianas Variety last week.

According to Mr. Erediano’s story, Ms. Deleon Guerrero has been weary of Senate consideration of the bill because of concerns by the Office of the Public Defender about so-called duplication of services, and her own concerns about funding this “new” power.

According to Mr. Manibusan, both concerns are based on false information. He said part of the reason for his letter was “to rectify the misinformation propagated by the Public Defender,” regarding Ms. Flores’ bill.

Douglas Hartig, the public defender, has said Flores’ bill will create “an unchecked police department.”

“To clarify, the Attorney General Investigative Division (AGID) already exists,” Mr. Manibusan wrote, adding that AGID investigators already are law enforcement officers, so Hartig and Deleon Guerrero’s contention that Flores’ bill creates another police department is erroneous.

“It does not duplicate government agencies or services,” he wrote. “The AGID operates within the Office of the Attorney General, supporting our mandate to prosecute Commonwealth law violations.”

The attorney general educated Ms. Deleon Guerrero about the OAG’s need to maintain an independent investigative wing in order to address “reported corruption and criminal activities that fall beyond the tasks of other law enforcement agencies. These investigations often encompass allegations against law enforcement personnel, suspected misconduct by government officials, violations of fiduciary duties, and breaches of government ethics code.”

He also wrote that Ms. Flores’ bill will not require any additional funding.

The House passed Ms. Flores’ bill last year, and the Senate was supposed to consider it in September before Ms. Deleon Guerrero pulled it from the floor.

Since then, the investigation and prosecution into Ralph Torres and others for corruption has continued, however impeded by the lack of clarity on the AG’s subpoena power.

In a related matter, Ms. Deleon Guerrero is pushing for local legislative delegations to have subpoena power.