HOUSE legal counsels Joseph L.G. Taijeron Jr. and Brendan Layde will represent the House Committee on Judiciary and Governmental Operations in Governor Ralph DLG Torres’s amended complaint for a declaratory and injunctive relief filed in Superior Court.
Layde, a former law clerk to the CNMI Supreme Court, and Taijeron, who served as deputy AG under former CNMI Attorney General Edward T. Buckingham, filed an appearance in the case on January 3, 2022.
The governor’s amended complaint no longer includes House sergeant-at arms Pedro Towai as a respondent in his official capacity.
In his complaint, Torres said the governor “is not and cannot be lawfully held in contempt of the committee, the House of Representatives or the Legislature for failing to comply with” a legislative subpoena.
The Republican governor was found by the Democrat-led committee in contempt of a legislative subpoena for refusing to appear before the panel which was investigating his public expenditures.
The governor is represented by his legal counsel Gil Birnbrich and the Banes Horey Berman & Miller law firm.
On Dec. 16, 2021, CNMI Supreme Court Chief Justice Alexandro C. Castro appointed former Judge Timothy H. Bellas to be the judge pro tempore in the lawsuit after Superior Court Presiding Judge Roberto C. Naraja, Associate Judges Wesley Bogdan, Kenneth Govendo, Teresa Kim-Tenorio and Joseph N. Camacho recused themselves from the case.
On Dec. 20, 2021, the House JGO Committee introduced House Resolution 22-14 calling for the impeachment of Torres on allegations of corruption, neglect of duty and felonies of theft.
The governor has denied the allegations.
Speaker Edmund Villagomez, for his part, has certified the committee’s finding of contempt and forwarded it to the Office of the Attorney General for prosecution.
