By Bryan Manabat
[email protected]
Variety News Staff
ASSISTANT Attorney General David Karch was terminated Friday, a week after the criminal case against former Gov. Ralph DLG Torres was dismissed with prejudice following a global settlement agreement.
Karch declined to comment. Attorney General Edward Manibusan has not issued a public statement on the termination.
Variety confirmed through multiple sources that Karch received a 60-day notice of termination without cause. His contract with the Office of the Attorney General, an at-will employment agreement, was set to run through June 2027.
Manibusan assigned the Torres case to Karch in September 2025.
Torres had faced charges of misconduct in public office, theft of government funds related to premium-class travel, and contempt of the Legislature for failing to comply with a subpoena.
On Tuesday, Superior Court Judge Pro Tem Arthur Barcinas dismissed the case after Karch and Torres’ attorney, Anthony Aguon, filed a stipulation that the parties had reached a “Global Civil Settlement Agreement” resolving all issues in Criminal Case Nos. 22-0050 and 23-0127.
The filing states that the settlement “resolves all allegations asserted in these actions,” and that both sides agreed to dismiss the cases with prejudice, with each party bearing its own attorney fees and costs. The stipulation further notes that the dismissal “is the result of compromise and settlement of all claims and shall not be construed as an admission of liability, fault, or wrongdoing by any party.”
Under the agreement, Torres must repay $23,745 — the additional cost of premium airfare upgrades — within 60 days of the settlement’s approval.
The Commonwealth also agreed not to pursue any criminal or civil charges against Torres arising from his government service through Jan. 9, 2023. Additionally, the agreement bars the Commonwealth from using the settlement “directly or indirectly” to support any allegation or prosecution under 1 CMC § 7701 or any statute relating to misuse of government funds, except for the imposition of the civil fine.
In a statement following the announcement of the settlement, Karch said, “After six months reviewing the case, with the benefit of eight years of experience in financial investigations, my assessment is that the evidence is not sufficient to prove criminal violations.”
Background
On April 8, 2022, the Office of the Attorney General charged Torres with 12 counts of misconduct in public office and one count of theft tied to the issuance of business-class, first-class, or other premium-class airline tickets for himself and his wife, Diann T. Torres. The OAG also charged him with one count of contempt for failing to appear in response to a legislative subpoena. Torres denied all charges.
In 2025, after the NMI Supreme Court remanded the matter to the trial court, Karch filed a notice of appearance to represent the government. In two opinions issued Aug. 22, 2025, the high court upheld the disqualification of Assistant Attorney General James R. Kingman and Chief Solicitor J. Robert Glass Jr., but reversed the trial court’s blanket disqualification of the entire OAG.
Bryan Manabat was a liberal arts student of Northern Marianas College where he also studied criminal justice. He is the recipient of the NMI Humanities Award as an Outstanding Teacher (Non-Classroom) in 2013, and has worked for the CNMI Motheread/Fatheread Literacy Program as lead facilitator.
