Efraim Manglona Atalig
In asking the court to deny the defense motion, O’Malley said that “the speculated testimony of witnesses would…at best, be [of] marginal relevance.”
District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona scheduled a hearing for today, Monday, at 1:30 p.m. on the Rota mayor’s trial postponement request.
Defense attorney David Banes said the “essential witnesses” that they intend to call to testify at the trial set for March 10 will be unavailable.
Banes requested that the trial be continued “until the related criminal case pending before the Superior Court is resolved.”
Banes believes that the testimony of seven unindicted Rota officials — who are the mayor’s co-defendants in the CNMI — will provide favorable testimony for the defense.
Mayor Atalig and his girlfriend Evelyn Atalig have been charged in federal court with conspiracy, wire fraud, theft from program receiving federal funds, and two counts of false statements.
They are accused of orchestrating CNMI-government-funded trips to California, Palau, Guam, and Saipan from February 2018 to August 2018.
Their jury trial has been postponed several times now.
In the CNMI Superior Court, Mayor Atalig and seven of his resident directors have been charged with misconduct in public office for taking government-funded per diem and salary compensation to attend a Republican Party rally on Guam on June 23, 2018.
Presiding Judge Roberto Naraja has rescheduled the jury trial of the Rota officials from Jan. 13, 2020 to March 30, 2020.
Banes said Mayor Atalig’s co-defendants in the CNMI are essential to the defense because of their anticipated “extremely exculpatory testimony.”
Banes said the anticipated testimony of the resident directors “would show that no one in the group, including Mr. Atalig and Ms. Atalig, harbored any intent to use the…trip [to Guam] as a pretext to attend a political rally, and that the anticipated testimony of at least some of the co-defendants would show the modus operandi of FBI special agent investigating this matter of not accurately summarizing witness interview statements (the interviews were not recorded).”
But O’Malley said, “This testimony would only bear on one aspect of one trip, whereas defendant is charged with a scheme that covers nine trips over eight months.”
O’Malley said, “Even assuming that the defendant-witnesses honestly believed the purpose of their own five-day trip to Guam was legitimate, that would not negate the ample evidence of defendant’s fraudulent intent relating to his own five-day trip to Guam, or, for that matter, his eight other trips.”
O’Malley added, “As the [U.S.] government has not offered any of the defendant-witnesses immunity, there is no reason to believe they would waive their 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination, whether convicted or acquitted in Superior Court.”
Evelyn Atalig, represented by attorney Steven Pixley, joined the request for trial postponement.
The Ataligs’ also requested to attend the Monday hearing via teleconference.
