Willens is also entitled to receive up to $9,000 in airfare to travel between the nation’s capital and Saipan; a per diem allowance of $100 per day or $18,000 during his contract period; $1,000 a month or up to $9,000 for his transportation allowance; and additional billings of up to $12,000.
Willens’ contract was signed on Sept. 12, 2008 when the governor’s federalization lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
The governor has retained Willens as his special legal counsel since 2006 for an annual fee of $48,000.
Sablan got a copy of Willens’s contract yesterday by virtue of an order signed by Superior Court Associate Judge David Wiseman.
Wiseman, in his decision in the Open Government Act complaint filed by Sablan, said except for the engagement letter, billing and payment records paid electronically to the Washington-based law firm Jenner & Block, all other contracts relevant to the federalization lawsuit should be released to her by April 21.
Acting Attorney General Gregory Baka earlier told Sablan that certain public funds were used to pay Jenner & Block’s $50,000 monthly retainer.
But Assistant Attorney General Braddock Huesman is now telling Sablan there is no such record to disclose.
“Mr. Huesman is now claiming that such transaction reports ‘do not exist because there were no internal transfers of funds.’ According to Mr. Huesman, payments made to Jenner & Block came from ‘the account previously indicated and no funds were transferred into said account,’ ” said Sablan in a statement.
“I assume that the ‘account previously indicated’ is the governor’s operating account #1011-6250. In his letter of Oct. 24, 2008, Acting AG Gregory Baka had told me that this operating account was the ‘sole public source of funding’ for the 903 lawsuit,” she added.
Not Free
Sablan said the documents she received proved that Willens’ legal expertise is not freely given to the Fitial administration as what was previously claimed.
“Contrary to the claims of the administration, Mr. Willens is not a ‘volunteer’ by any reasonable definition of the word. Although his contract does say that Mr. Willens agrees to provide professional legal services to the Governor ‘free of charge,’ I have yet to find any evidence of anything being ‘free,’ ” she said.
Worth his pay
Press Secretary Charles P. Reyes Jr. said there should be no controversy over Willens’s salary given his background and credentials.
He said Willens and his wife, Deanne Siemer, have made invaluable contributions to the CNMI.
“Mr. Willen’s background, credentials and qualifications are clear; his history and relationship with the CNMI over the course of decades are well established and widely respected, and he and his wife Deanne Siemer have been invaluable to this government,” said Reyes in an e-mail to the Variety.
He added that Willens, a Yale University graduate, works even on weekend and holidays.
“Some of the CNMI’s elected leaders probably should consider the need to treat our professionals with greater respect and not inject so much politics that respected professionals would be reluctant to serve our government and community because they do not want to be victims of political incivility or polarized local politics,” Reyes said.
