Attorney General Edward T. Buckingham has taken Pai to court over the hiring of Joseph Przyuski and Brian McMahon.
In a memorandum to the AG, Pai said all employee contracts of OPA are routed to the Department of Finance which then certifies the availability of funds in OPA’s special and separate account.
Przyuski’s contract did not contain the signatures of the AG, the director of Procurement and Supply or the governor, Buckingham told the court.
“This has been the long-standing practice of OPA. Approval by the attorney general is not necessary and has never been sought. This is consistent with the language of 1 CMC Section 2305 and the insulation from outside interference. Thus your approval of Mr. Przyuski’s contract was not solicited and, of course, you cannot withdraw that which you never gave,” Pai told Buckingham.
Buckingham earlier informed Pai that the “review” of Przyuski and McMahon’s contracts would “determine whether legal issues…warrant withdrawal of approval by the Office of the Attorney General and/or whether the Department of Finance should cease payments and/or seek recovery of funds on neither or both contracts.”
Pai reminded Buckingham that OPA is an independent agency whose funding is “included in the governor’s budget submission [to the Legislature] for informational purposes only.”
To further ensure OPA independence, Pai said he “is specifically authorized to hire staff, including attorneys, as he or she deems necessary.”
Pai said OPA funds are held in special account separate from the general fund to safeguard threats to his office’s independence.
In the lawsuit filed in Superior Court, Buckingham and Finance Secretary Larissa Larson, through Assistant Attorney General W. Allen Hazlip, sought declaratory judgment on the contracts of Przyuski and McMahon.
OPA, through Przyuski, earlier investigated Buckingham’s hosting of a partisan “meet and greet” gathering at the residence of Gov. Benigno Fitial for the administration’s delegate candidate last year.
