SAYING the prosecution informed his client, Shayne Villanueva, that he was being investigated prior to the March 5, 2024 legislative hearing, defense attorney Keith Chambers requested the Superior Court to reconsider its ruling denying their motion to dismiss the contempt of Legislature case.
“This motion is necessary to correct a clear error and prevent manifest injustice,” Chambers said. “Specifically, the Commonwealth was investigating Mr. Villanueva prior to the March 5, 2024 hearing, [and] the Commonwealth made this known to Mr. Villanueva through this counsel and has conceded that Mr. Villanueva has criminal exposure with regard to the questions to which Mr. Villanueva pled the Fifth. Therefore, it would be manifestly unjust for the court to not overturn the Order with respect to its findings on whether Mr. Villanueva had the right to plead the Fifth here,” Chambers added.
Last month, Superior Court Presiding Judge Roberto C. Naraja denied the motion to dismiss the contempt of Legislature case against Villanueva.
His bench trial will start on Nov. 6, 2024.
Background
Villanueva is the owner of Roil Soil Marketing, which the administration of then-Gov. Ralph DLG Torres contracted to help implement BOOST in 2022.
BOOST stands for “Building Optimism, Opportunities and Stability Together,” a $17 million federally funded program of the previous administration.
On March 5, 2024, Villanueva appeared before the House Special Committee on Federal Assistance & Disaster-Related Funding and invoked his Fifth Amendment right when asked questions about BOOST. After the committee found him in contempt, Speaker Edmund S. Villagomez transmitted to Attorney General Edward E. Manibusan a “certification of statement of contempt” pertaining to Villanueva.
On March 22, 2024, Villanueva self-surrendered at the Department of Corrections after an arrest warrant was issued against him for contempt. He posted a $1,000 bail for his release.
During an arraignment on April 2, 2024, Villanueva pled not guilty to the charge of contempt of Legislature.
Motion to reconsider
Chambers, in a 16-page motion, reiterated his client’s right to assert a blanket invocation of the Fifth Amendment.
He said, “The questions to which Mr. Villanueva asserted his Fifth Amendment rights, and are the subject of this prosecution, were seeking information about Mr. Villanueva. They asked Mr. Villanueva about his own educational background and his advertising credentials, not the educational background or credentials of the ex-Governor or any other person. The fact that these questions were focused on Mr. Villanueva indicates that the Committee wanted to explore Mr. Villanueva’s relationship to the BOOST program.”
Chambers said his client “was the subject of an investigation by the Office of the Attorney General prior to his March 5th testimony, and he was informed of this by Assistant Attorney General James Robert Kingman prior to Mr. Villanueva’s March 5th testimony by phone call.”
“The fact that Mr. Villanueva was informed that he was under investigation by the Office of the Attorney General prior to his March 5 testimony satisfies the court’s test for his ability to take a blanket plea of the Fifth, regardless of Mr. Kingman’s personal beliefs as to what Mr. Villanueva did or did not know,” Chambers added.
“The Commonwealth cannot dispute this,” he said. “The Commonwealth acknowledged that Mr. Villanueva was under investigation, that there is allegedly already ‘probable cause’ against him, and that ‘every single part of the BOOST operation was snakebit from the beginning,’ ” Chambers said. “Any more testimony about BOOST would only serve to incriminate Mr. Villanueva further,” he added.
Chambers said the Commonwealth conceded that Villanueva “has criminal exposure with regards to these questions. …”
“Answers to them can furnish a link in the chain of evidence needed to prosecute several crimes,” Chamber added.
Villanueva pled the Fifth to the following questions posed at the legislative hearing:
1) “Can you please tell us a little bit about your post-secondary educational background?”
2) “Do you have a degree or any certification in marketing or advertising?”
