THE chair of the House Committee on Judiciary and Governmental Operations chairwoman on Wednesday reassured the lawyers of Gov. Ralph DLG Torres that the governor’s chief of staff, Wil Castro, will not be implicated in the JGO’s investigation of the governor’s public expenditures.
In her reply to the governor’s legal counsel, Gil Birnbrich and Washington D.C.-based lawyer, Ross Garber, Rep. Celina R. Babauta said the committee’s inquiry “is limited to the subpoenaed witness’ personal knowledge of certain requests for reimbursement and travel claims made by Governor…Torres during a period preceding Mr. Castro’s appointment as chief of staff.”
Accordingly, Babauta said, “the subpoena does not implicate Mr. Castro in his current official capacity within the Office of the Governor.”
She was responding to Birnbrich’s request for clarification on the subpoena served to Castro. The governor’s lawyers want to know whether the committee is going to ask Castro “any questions regarding information he may have learned in connection with his role as chief of staff, or whether questions will instead be limited to information he obtained prior to his appointment to that position.”
Birnbrich said, “This clarification is significant in that it may bear on possible assertions of privileges and immunities….”
He also requested the committee for copies of any documents or other exhibits about which the committee plans to question Castro at the hearing.
“A review of documents will aid our office in determining the applicability of privileges and immunities and qualification by Mr. Castro for counsel provided by the CNMI government,” the lawyer said. “We also note that provision of the documents and exhibits will aid Mr. Castro in preparing his testimony, even if ultimately he is not represented by government-provided counsel.”
Celina Babauta
