Baka told the court that the law firm of Jenner & Block is authorized to represent the CNMI in the governor’s lawsuit against the federalization law.
Some lawmakers said Baka’s tenure as acting AG is questionable.
Baka, the deputy AG, has been the acting AG since the resignation of Matthew Gregory last September.
The governor, however, hasn’t nominated Baka as AG.
Yesterday, Rep. Tina Sablan, Ind.-Saipan, inquired about the status of the acting AG.
Rep. Rosemond B. Santos, R, Saipan and chairwoman of the House Committee on Judiciary and Governmental Operations, said Baka’s status is questionable.
She said she never got a response from the administration regarding her inquiry about the same subject.
“I am trying to set up a one-on-one meeting with the governor,” she added.
Speaker Arnold I. Palacios, R-Saipan, said he will seek a legal opinion regarding Baka’s status.
Press Secretary Charles P. Reyes Jr. said the administration welcomes Santos’s concerns.
“We appreciate Representative Santos’s legal concerns and we look forward to addressing them with her. We would, of course, be interested in learning the nature of her questions and concerns,” he told the Variety in an e-mail.
According to Reyes, “Acting AG Baka’s service is in full compliance with the relevant statutes, 1 CMC, Sections 2902 & 2904. We would be happy to discuss this with Representative Santos, as well.”
The U.S. Department of Justice has asked the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to dismiss the governor’s lawsuit because it wasn’t filed by the CNMI’s AG.
