Fitial submitted the nomination to Senate President Paul A. Manglona, Ind.-Rota, on Feb. 16 which was stamped received on the 24th by the upper house.
“Pursuant to Article III, Section 11 of the NMI Constitution; 1 CMC §2152, I hereby appoint Mr. Edward Buckingham, assistant attorney general, to the position of the attorney general. This nomination requires the advice and consent of the Senate,” Fitial’s letter to Manglona reads.
On a separate letter also dated Feb. 16, Fitial informed Buckingham about his decision.
“The lt. governor and I are confident that you will perform the duties of the attorney general commendably and ensure that the objectives and missions of the department are fully realized at this critical time. Although your appointment must be confirmed by the Senate, upon accepting of this appointment, you will immediately assume the responsibility and position of the attorney general,” Fitial told the AG.
On March 3, the Senate also received a copy of the AG’s drug test results, one of the basic requirements to process his nomination.
Last Feb. 3, the AG issued a legal opinion asserting that because the CNMI’s Constitution was silent on the terms of political appointees who must be confirmed by the Senate, it should be construed that they serve at the pleasure of the governor.
Thus, their confirmation during the governor’s first term of office remains valid unless the latter removes them from office.
“A person previously nominated and confirmed by the Senate need not be renominated by the Senate so long as the person remains in the same position,” Buckingham said in his three-page legal opinion published in the February edition of the Commonwealth Register.
The AG said except for the public auditor who serves a term of six years upon confirmation by both houses of the Legislature, all other political appointees, including the AG, serve at the pleasure of the governor after their Senate confirmation.
“It would be inappropriate to conclude that the framers [of the constitution] contemplated terms of both limited and indefinite duration. Accordingly, it would be inappropriate to conclude that the framers meant to explicitly limit the duration of the heads of the executive branch departments when they pointedly chose not to,” he said and added that the same rule is followed in the U.S.
Several other political appointees previously confirmed by the Senate, however, were also renominated and had since been confirmed.
