Martin Daly’s statement:
“Should the Attorney General cease to hold office in light of the so-called witness-tampering allegations?
I have received a significant number of requests to give my answer to the question at caption. I have no doubt that the answer is yes, despite the fact that the matter is only at the investigation stage and despite the presumption of innocence.
Unfortunately, the Attorney General has put himself in an impossible position because for the majority of his tenure in office, he has been very aggressive politically. In my view, a high level of political aggression is not compatible with the Office of Attorney General, which is the guardian of the public interest in many matters and therefore requires a measure of detachment from the extremes of partisan party politics.
The so-called witness-tampering allegations represent the culmination of a number of controversial events in which the Attorney General has been at the centre, particularly, the Section 34 controversy.
His recent crowing about a default judgment in a defamation case is an example of the blurring of the lines between being the guardian of the public interest and his manner of pursuing a campaign against the Leader of the Opposition, however legitimate such a campaign may be in the Attorney General’s eyes.
This high volume of partisan political controversy has had the effect of undermining the confidence which citizens are entitled to have that the Office of Attorney General is the guardian of the public interest, unduly influenced by political affiliation and political objectives. It is for this reason that it is my opinion that the Attorney General can no longer remain in office.”
AG must step down: first act in rare drama
Trinidad and Tobago’s public affairs cannot stay on hold until Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar issues her scheduled statement tomorrow afternoon. Ms Persad-Bissessar is inescapably one personality under the relentless spotlight of an extraordinary national drama.
Step Down Now
Kamla to make statement tomorrow
Even as calls continued for Attorney General Anand Ramlogan to resign, the AG remained in the position yesterday. But the question remains if he will be fired or resign shortly as Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar is expected to make an announcement tomorrow.
‘I won’t lie or break the law’
Griffith claims he was almost set up
“Take one for the team.”
That’s the request that was made of Minister of National Security Gary Griffith in Cabinet last Thursday in light of the damning witness tampering allegations levelled against Attorney General Anand Ramlogan.
In every civilized country where there is an Attorney General is is being investigated for an act of criminality, that AG will have to step aside and allow due process to take place rather than inject his stance of innocence. This is the man (or woman) that the nation heralds as the person responsible to uphold and interpret the law of the land and everyone expects that he (or she) is to be free of any semblance of law breaking, wrong doing or illegality in the exercise of his duties. It was interesting to hear the Prime Minister say in one breath that her obligation is to the people of this country first and that no man is above the law (or words to that effect), yet after more than 24 hours of deliberation she is acting like a judge whilst saying in effect she is not a judge and speaking about being innocent before being proven guilty. Lady prime minister, you are right on so many counts but purposely wrong in terms of your auction or inaction in seeing to it that the office of the attorney general remains one that is not tainted by accusation or misdeed. The moment the police acknowledged that they are in fact probing Anand Ramlogan, he should forthwith step down as AG. That is not only the decent thing to do, it is the right thing to do if you want the people to accept your comments that you are here top preserve the authenticity of the constitution and fair play. The tardiness with which Kamla Persad Bissessar is handling Ramlogan’s misdeeds is troubling to those of us who believe that “no one is above the law”. This is not an act of guilt or innocence, it is an act of preserving the integrity of the position (or office) he holds. It is for this reason and this reason only that the PM’s tardiness in taking positive step is short of the mark. Let us all be vigilant in upholding the office of AG with dignity and pride. Similarly, the Speaker of the House of Representatives committed a criminal act of purposely misleading parliament when he in fact shut off debate on the member for Chaguanas West to step aside, by quoting his authority as coming from the Court of the chief justice. No matter how you take this action and reason with it, it is criminal in nature and the very act of keeping the Speaker on the bench to adjudicate is morally corrupt and legally inept. Wade Mark more than any speaker that we have had in the past is a party animal. He only allows the opposition to get away when the law is clearly on their side and even then if he can use the power of the speaker to curtail their contributions, he would do it. Wade Mark has no right to be sitting in parliament, telling legislators how to act and talk. He has shown in blatant and open forum that he himself in incapable of doing just that. For once I can say that I admire Gary Griffith’s stand on the affairs of the AG. It is noteworthy that when the PM was asked to comment on the AGs matter, she made it a point to inform us that two ministers were involved. However, she also has unwittingly exposed her bias by making this point so forcefully. She did not have to go that route, all she needed to say was that as prime minister she has a duty to deliberate on the matter and the chips have to fall where they may. That would have been a more professional approach than tiptoeing around Ramlogan’s guilt or innocence. Gary Griffith’s utterances on the matter has been very professional and appears truthful. He withstood the arm twisting of the PP cabinet to get him to lie about Ramlogan’s involvement and his stance has brought about some credibility to his otherwise boisterous personality. ON this matter he is a class act and many of us hope that the rest of the partnership should take heed of him and be honest enough to commend him for standing up to truth and honesty, something that up till now cannot be said of the Prime Minister.