A bipartisan majority of the members of the Commonwealth House of Representatives have introduced articles of impeachment against Gov. Ralph Torres. If impeached by a two-thirds vote of the House, Mr. Torres faces trial in the Senate, where it will take the vote of six senators to remove him from office.
According to the congressmen, led by Judiciary and Governmental Operations Chairwoman Rep. Celina Roberto Babauta, Mr. Torres has committed multiple counts of six types of impeachable offenses, including illegal first class travel, theft of utility services, theft, misuse of government resources, neglect of duty and contempt of the Legislature.
The six articles of impeachment, mostly crimes of corruption, far outweigh the charges against former Gov. Benigno Fitial, who was impeached by the House in 2011, but resigned before his Senate trial began.
Among the members of the House who signed onto the impeachment articles is Rep. Joel Camacho, who is the governor’s godson. While Reps. Sheila Babauta and Leila Staffler had not signed the articles as of its pre-filing, sources have said they support impeachment.
If Speaker Edmund Villagomez or Rep. John Paul Sablan support impeachment, then there will be enough votes in the House to impeach the governor.
The articles of impeachment follow:
