Reyes said the governor has no plans of nominating his special legal counsels Howard P. Willens or Joel Bergsma for the post.
Willens, is a graduate of Yale University, and served in the Kennedy administration.
He was the legal counsel of the NMI team that negotiated for the islands’ Covenant with the U.S.
Bergsma, a Harvard University graduate, briefly worked in the CNMI as assistant attorney general when Fitial was still a House lawmaker.
Reyes said both may encounter legal challenges on their residency if nominated as the next AG.
Bergsma has a private practice in California while Willens is a resident of Washington, D.C. and is expected to remain there now that the Fitial administration filed a lawsuit in federal court to challenge the labor provisions of the federalization law which is scheduled to take effect on June 1, 2009.
Reyes said in the meantime, Deputy Attorney General Greg Baka will be the acting AG.
He said Baka, who used to work for the U.S. Attorneys Office, is also a likely candidate for the AG’s but the administration fears that his nomination might not be supported by some lawmakers.
Matthew Gregory resigned on Sept. 27 as AG to return to private practice.
