ATTORNEY Keith Chambers said the disclosure of the communications between himself and the prosecutor is very relevant to the contempt of Legislature case against his client, Shayne B. Villanueva.
Chambers was responding to the prosecution’s opposition to his motion to reconsider a court ruling that denied their motion to dismiss.
To support his arguments, Chambers mentioned written communications between himself and Assistant Attorney General James Kingman regarding Villanueva’s criminal exposure related to the questions for which the defendant invoked his Fifth Amendment right.
Chambers said Kingman argued in his opposition that the disclosure was “improper, unethical, sanctionable disclosure [that] is not germane to the issue[.]”
“This disclosure is very germane to the issue at hand,” Chambers said.
He added, “The issues here are whether Mr. Villanueva was under investigation by the Office of the Attorney General and whether Mr. Villanueva’s answers to the questions that serve as the basis for the charge in the Information here ‘would furnish a link in the chain of evidence needed to prosecute the claimant.’ ”
According to Chambers, “The … exhibits show that Mr. Villanueva was under criminal investigation, that this information was communicated to Mr. Villanueva through his counsel before Mr. Villanueva gave his testimony on March 5, 2024, and that the Commonwealth has admitted that there may be a time ‘if and when I charge the conduct for which the 5th was pled,’ thereby conceding that Mr. Villanueva’s answers could be used in a link in the chain of evidence needed to prosecute Mr. Villanueva, [and] demonstrates that the communications are very [relevant] here.”
Chambers said, “With respect to the argument that Mr. Villanueva’s disclosure is improper, the Commonwealth failed to articulate why this disclosure was improper here.”
“The Commonwealth failed to articulate how providing this communication, the contents to which are undisputed, in a criminal matter such as this, was ‘improper’ to show manifest injustice,” Chambers added.
“With respect to the Commonwealth’s argument that the disclosures are ‘unethical and sanctionable,’ these are very serious allegations, especially being put in a public document such as this. Again, however, the Commonwealth provides no legal support for these conclusory allegations,” he said.
Villanueva pled the Fifth to the following questions posed at a legislative hearing:
1) “Can you please tell us a little bit about your post-secondary educational background?”
2) “Do you have a degree or any certification in marketing or advertising?”
“If the Commonwealth believed that Mr. Villanueva’s answers to the questions here would not furnish a link in the chain of evidence needed to prosecute the claimant for some or all of these crimes (Accessory Before the Fact Liability), then the Commonwealth was obligated to say that Mr. Villanueva has no criminal exposure with respect to these crimes and explain why,” Chambers said.
But, he added, “the Commonwealth declined to do so. This is very telling. The Commonwealth’s failure to respond to any of the arguments made [on] pages ten through fifteen of the motion to reconsider indicates that some or all of these crimes are ones which the Commonwealth is anticipating charging Mr. Villanueva in the future.”
Superior Court Presiding Judge Roberto C. Naraja has scheduled a motion hearing for today, Friday, Oct. 11, at 9 a.m.
Last month, Judge Naraja denied the motion to dismiss the contempt of Legislature case against Villanueva.
Chambers then asked the court to reconsider, saying it is “necessary to correct a clear error and prevent manifest injustice.”
“Specifically, the Commonwealth was investigating Mr. Villanueva prior to the March 5, 2024 hearing, [and] the Commonwealth made this known to Mr. Villanueva through this counsel and has conceded that Mr. Villanueva has criminal exposure with regard to the questions to which Mr. Villanueva pled the Fifth. Therefore, it would be manifestly unjust for the court to not overturn the Order with respect to its findings on whether Mr. Villanueva had the right to plead the Fifth here,” Chambers said.
Villanueva is the owner of Roil Soil Marketing, which the administration of then-Gov. Ralph DLG Torres contracted to help implement BOOST in 2022.
BOOST stands for “Building Optimism, Opportunities and Stability Together,” a $17 million federally funded program.
On March 5, 2024, Villanueva appeared before the House Special Committee on Federal Assistance & Disaster-Related Funding and invoked his Fifth Amendment right when asked questions about BOOST. After the committee found him in contempt, Speaker Edmund S. Villagomez transmitted to Attorney General Edward E. Manibusan a “certification of statement of contempt” pertaining to Villanueva.
On March 22, 2024, Villanueva self-surrendered at the Department of Corrections after an arrest warrant was issued against him for contempt. He posted a $1,000 bail for his release.
During an arraignment on April 2, 2024, Villanueva pled not guilty to the charge of contempt of Legislature.
His bench trial will start on Nov. 6, 2024.
