“At this point it is too preliminary to comment on the substance of OPA’s response, but I can inform you that OPA will be responding in the coming days,” Pai added.
Buckingham said he did not violate any law when he hosted the gathering.
Congressman Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan, who is seeking re-election; the Democratic Party’s candidate Jesus C. Borja; former Rep. Tina Sablan; Glen Hunter; and several other concerned citizens have separately filed a complaint with OPA or the election commission.
The Republican Party’s candidate, former Gov. Juan N. Babauta, was off-island, Variety was told yesterday.
“The integrity of the coming election is at stake in this matter, and the public can no longer have confidence that Attorney General Buckingham and the [Attorney General’s Office] will fairly and impartially carry out their election-related duties,” chairman Roy M. Pangelinan of the Committee to Elect Borja stated in his complaint.
Borja’s campaign committee is asking OPA to look into the possible violations of the Government Ethics Code.
“As to the violations of the CNMI election law, unfortunately the attorney general is tasked with investigating alleged violations, and obviously the committee does not have confidence that [Buckingham] can adequately investigate his own actions and those of his office,” Pangelinan stated.
“Because of this clear conflict of interest,” Borja’s committee is asking OPA to designate a special prosecutor to investigate Buckingham and the AGO.
Borja’s campaign committee is also asking the election commission to “appoint an independent and impartial third-party legal advisor to help oversee the administration of the coming election.”
“For all these reasons,” Pangelinan said, “the committee…respectfully requests that the election commission, [OPA] and the [AGO] act as expeditiously as possible to take any and all necessary action, and to restore public confidence in the free and fair election process.”
Speak out
In an e-mail to the Variety, Hunter said: “I formally filed a complaint with OPA and I am in the process of filing one with the [Federal Election Commission] and reporting my concerns to the local” U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Hunter said he is “far from without fault and in filing [the] report I do not feel like I am holier than anyone else. [But] I would like to encourage everyone to please speak out.”
“Elections are a fundamental part of our democracy and should be handled with utmost care. Those in charge of overseeing the elections should be held to a much higher standard and should at…least follow the rule of law and when in doubt err on the conservative side. I hope that the [assistant attorneys general will] come forward and impress on [Buckingham] the need for the AGO to step down from having any further involvement in this election,” Hunter said.
‘AG-Gate’
The Committee to Elect Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan yesterday said it took its first legal action “in response to partisan political activity in potential violation of commonwealth law by the AG.”
The committee filed an Open Government Act request with the AG’s office to obtain all e-mails, phone logs, and other communications or records of communications that occurred, using government resources, to arrange any event in support of a candidate for public office, Joseph N. Camacho, currently of the ruling Covenant Party.
The Kilili committee also asked for all records of government funds used in support of these events, including paid staff time and the costs of providing security, utilities, furnishings, or equipment at the governor’s mansion or other premises.
The names of all CNMI government employees who were invited or have attended were also demanded.
Kilili campaign first vice chairman Jesus San Nicholas, made the following statement:
“[We are] filing an Open Government Act request for all records of activities by CNMI government employees, using CNMI government time or resources, in support of a candidate for the federal office of delegate to the United States Congress.”
Under the requirements of the Open Government Act, the attorney general has 10 days in which to reply.
“Any use of government resources to arrange or support partisan political activity is a violation of commonwealth law. Any person who made use of government resources in this way would be liable for prosecution. Of course, when the violation occurs within the office of the attorney general, this raises the question of who could conduct the prosecution,” San Nicolas said.
“More important than any individual’s violation of commonwealth law that has occurred is the shadow that this event throws over the Nov. 2nd federal election. The attorney general is responsible by law for providing advice and counsel to the Commonwealth Election Commission. The attorney general also has a statutory role in the monitoring of polling places and the counting of ballots.
“Therefore, any partisan political activity by the attorney general, his office, or staff, any alignment of the attorney general with one particular candidate, even any perception of favoritism, jeopardizes the credibility of the attorney general and the capacity of his office to discharge its legal responsibilities in support of the Nov. 2nd election.
“In closing, I would like to underscore how seriously we view this situation.
“The people of the commonwealth exercised our inherent right to self-government, when we voted to approve the Covenant some 35 years ago.
“The fundamental act of self-government is the vote.
“Any attack on the integrity of the vote or the election is an attack on our Covenant and on our right of self-government and will not be tolerated.
“As we are doing today, the Campaign to Elect Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan will continue to take whatever actions are necessary to protect the public interest, our Covenant, and our right to self-government.”
