HOUSE Gaming Committee Chairman Edwin Propst said Gov. Ralph DLG Torres, through his legal counsel Gil Birnbrich, redacted critical information before submitting documents that former Development Plan Advisory Committee consultant James Chua had prepared in response to a subpoena duces tecum issued by the committee.
In an interview on Saturday, Propst said his committee is now reviewing the documents, adding that among the bits of information that the governor’s legal counsel “blacked out” is the name of the person who ordered Chua to stop attending Commonwealth Casino Commission meetings.
In its meeting on Sept. 17, 2021, the House Gaming Committee members agreed to issue a subpoena to Chua so he could answer questions regarding a report on the viability of a casino industry on Saipan.
Propst said, “It is sad that the governor, through his legal counsel Gil Birnbrich, has decided to redact critical information [in response to a] very simple question that we want [to be] answered, one of several.”
Propst said in an email, Chua was told to stop attending casino commission meetings. The email, Propst added, was traced to the governor’s office.
When Chua identified the person who ordered him to stop attending the commission meetings, Propst said the name of the person was redacted.
“Why are they hiding the identity of the person who told Chua not to come to the meeting?” Propst asked.
“The big question here is why is the governor so silent and complicit in all of it? Why was the governor not responding to James Chua’s concerns at that time? The governor should have been clearly active on this, and yet the governor chose to do nothing, say nothing and be nothing,” Propst said.
House Gaming Committee Chairman Edwin Propst asks a question during a committee meeting on Sept. 17, 2021 in the House chamber.
