THE House Judiciary and Governmental Operations Committee on Friday issued a subpoena to Gov. Ralph DLG Torres.
The subpoena “commands” the governor to appear before the committee at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 10 in the House chamber.
The committee chair, Rep. Celina Babauta, in an email to Variety said the House panel “appreciates that Governor Torres has made several comments to the media with respect to the JGO investigation.”
“He has been waiting for this moment to clear his name and we look forward to his testimony. The committee hopes that he will make the time to answer our questions under oath,” Babauta said.
According to the subpoena, the governor will be asked about the following items “and other related matters”:
• First/premium class travel performed on behalf of the CNMI government.
• Expenditure, per diem, stipend, and reimbursement justifications in the course of travel performed between 2015 to present, including, but not limited to, reimbursements for meals, hosting and gifts claimed by or on behalf of Gov. Ralph DLG Torres and first lady Diann Tudela Torres.
• Property/inventory policies, procedures and practices of the Office of the Governor including, but not limited to, equipment and goods purchased or claimed by or on behalf of Governor Torres and/or Mrs. Torres.
• The use of Department of Public Safety personnel for personal security detail and the use of other government personnel and resources, including federal grants for the benefit of Governor Torres and Mrs. Torres.
• Contract and contractual relationships entered into for the benefit of the Office of the Governor, Governor Torres and Mrs. Torres including, but not limited to, contracts for personnel, consulting, and legal representation.
• Payment and use of utilities for the benefit of Governor Torres and Mrs. Torres.
• Federal investigations involving CNMI government expenditures and resources.
The governor is “further commanded to testify then and there under oath, give lawful and truthful responses to all lawful inquiries and questions put to you on behalf of the…House of Representatives.”
“You may be accompanied by counsel of your choosing,” the subpoena stated. “You must remain in attendance until expressly excused by the committee members conducting the proceeding. Failure to comply with this subpoena may subject you to contempt, pursuant to 1 CMC §1306 and 1 CMC §1307, and a civil enforcement action prescribed by law.”
The House JGO also subpoenaed Department of Public Safety Commissioner Robert A. Guerrero who was commanded to appear before the panel on Dec. 7, at 10:30 a.m. in the House chamber.
The committee said it will ask him questions about DPS boating safety policies, procedures and operations, as well as records, expenses, travel authorizations, travel vouchers, reimbursement requests, boat manifests, float plans pertaining to the boat trips of the governor, the first lady or their relatives and friends.
Background
On June 11, 2021, the House announced that it was re-opening an investigation into the governor’s public expenditures based on a report that Rep. Tina Sablan submitted in the previous Legislature.
On June 12, 2020, the then-House minority bloc released thousands of pages of records of the governor’s first-class travel, official representation, reimbursement, executive security, housing expenses, and utilities expenses.
These records were obtained through an Open Government Act request to the Department of Finance.
