SUPERIOR Court Presiding Judge Roberto C. Naraja, Associate Judges Joseph N. Camacho, Wesley Bogdan and Kenneth L. Govendo on Monday recused themselves from presiding over the criminal case filed by the Office of the Attorney General against Gov. Ralph DLG Torres.
Judge Teresa Kim-Tenorio was the first to disqualify herself on Friday, saying her partiality might be questioned.
The other judges, in their separate orders of recusal, mentioned conflicts of interest.
Judge Bogdan is the former legal counsel of Torres.
Judge Camacho’s wife, attorney Viola Alepuyo, represents Torres in the case.
For their part, Judges Naraja and Govendo said their impartiality might be questioned.
Received
Alepuyo acknowledged receiving the penal summons and information on behalf of her client, the governor, from a process server late Friday afternoon on Capital Hill.
The penal summons directed Torres to appear before the Superior Court on April 18, 2022, Monday, at 9 a.m.
The AG’s office said the criminal case against the governor is alleging 12 counts of misconduct in public office and one count of theft relating to the issuance of airline tickets for business class, first class, or other premium class travel for himself and/or first lady Diann T. Torres.
The case also alleges one count of contempt for failure to appear in compliance with a House committee subpoena.
In a statement Sunday, the Office of the Governor said it “trusts…the CNMI’s justice system and declines to comment further on the pending litigation. The matter has been forwarded to Governor Torres’ private counsel.”
The charges against the governor were among those mentioned in the articles of impeachment passed by the House of Representatives on Jan. 12, 2022 by a vote of 15 to 4 with 1 abstention. The governor has denied the allegations.
The CNMI Senate, for its past, said it will proceed with the impeachment hearing with or without a record of impeachment or a House prosecutor.
The House leadership has said that the Senate rules are “unfair” and “unconstitutional.”
At least six of the nine senators must vote to convict in order to remove the governor from office.
