James Robert Kingman
ASSISTANT Attorney General James Robert Kingman has asked the Superior Court to deny former Gov. Ralph DLG. Torres’ motion for declaratory relief.
Torres said the court should prevent Kingman from prosecuting the case “because [Kingman’s] contract with the attorney general is invalid and unlawful.”
According to Torres, the attorney general lacks the authority to appoint and hire a special prosecutor for the misconduct in public office case filed against the former governor relating to first class travel.
Judge Pro Tempore Arthur Barcinas has scheduled a hearing for Dec. 19, at 1 p.m.
Kingman said Torres’ “motion was then and remains improper. Since the motion was filed, the Supreme Court has ruled on the ‘issue’ in a separate challenge to the special prosecutor’s admission pro hac vice; the contract at issue was terminated as the special prosecutor and the attorney general moved from a legal services contract to an employment contract.”
“Because the motion is outside of what may be found in this case and has been mooted by law and events, it should be denied,” Kingman added.
On April 8, 2022, the AG’s office filed a criminal case against Torres, alleging 12 counts of misconduct in public office and one count of theft relating to the issuance of airline tickets for business class, first class, or other premium class travel for himself and/or Diann T. Torres, his wife.
The case also alleged one count of contempt for failure to appear in compliance with a legislative subpoena.
Torres has denied the charges.
