“I think this matter is far from resolved. The court order takes the evidentiary hearing off the calendar, but it does not rule out other courses of action that may be taken in the future,” Sablan told the Variety in an e-mail.
“For example, the court may still impose sanctions if it finds that its orders have been violated, and indeed Judge Munson has indicated in his order that the court has sufficient resources to make such a determination,” she added.
Aside from vacating the evidentiary hearing, Federal Court Chief Judge Alex Munson also quashed subpoenas served on Gov. Benigno R. Fitial and four Department of Corrections officers who “transferred” federal detainee Qingmei Cheng to the governor’s residence so she could massage him.
Munson, in his order, said the U.S. government has “sufficient investigatory resources at its disposal, and sufficient processes and procedures, to conduct its own enquiry into the facts surrounding this unprecedented event.”
According to Sablan, “There is…the possibility of new motions or new charges being filed by the U.S. attorney in the future. As Judge Munson has noted, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has sufficient resources to conduct a more traditional investigation and utilize the grand jury, and at least some of the individuals involved in the massage incident may be found criminally culpable for their actions,” she said.
“Finally, as the court has noted, it is the duty of Qingmei Cheng’s attorney to determine whether or not Ms. Cheng’s rights were violated when she was released from custody in order to massage the governor. If her rights were violated, then there is the possibility of these charges also being raised in the future,” she added.
Cheng has been charged for attempting to bring 22 aliens illegally to the neighboring U.S. territory of Guam last Jan. 5.
She has pleaded not guilty.
