Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric O’Malley, in his three-page motion submitted on Friday, said evidentiary hearings provide judges “with a flexible mechanism to enforce compliance with their judgments and orders. This may include taking action against persons not a party to the underlying litigation.”
He said “the evidentiary hearing … is an acceptable use of this power [of the court] as it is necessary and appropriate in aid of the court’s jurisdiction, specifically its authority to detain persons charged with federal crimes and to prevent unauthorized contacts with those detainees.”
He added, “The purpose of the evidentiary hearing is to discover and record the existence, or non-existence, of prejudice to the government’s case.”
The hearing, he said, “will also serve to disclose and record the existence, or non-existence of prejudice to [Qingmei] Cheng’s due process and/or civil rights.”
Cheng, the governor’s masseuse, has been charged with 22 counts of attempting to bring aliens to the U.S. through Guam.
O’Malley argued that the evidentiary hearing will either provide a clean record upon which the prosecution of Cheng may proceed without obstacle, or provide basis for motions or actions brought by the defendant.
O’Malley said the evidentiary hearing is “an appropriately cautious measure to make such a record,” since “there is no evidence on the record — only unsupported assertions of counsel.”
“There is no testimony, no sworn statements, no physical evidence,” he added.
“[If] granted, information revealed during the evidentiary hearing may conceivably prompt the court, the government, or an interested third-party, to initiate contempt proceedings,” O’Malley said.
