HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — Like certain other government entities, the Office of the Governor was commanded to provide numerous documents and testify before a grand jury as part of an ongoing investigation by the Office of the Attorney General.
But, like some of those entities subpoenaed by the OAG, the governor’s office has challenged demands for records, characterizing them as little more than a “fishing expedition.” Adelup also is seeking to quash the subpoena through the courts.
The OAG so far is known to have subpoenaed Guam Homeland Security/Office of Civil Defense, the Department of Administration, Guam Power Authority, Guam Waterworks Authority and the Consolidated Commission on Utilities, the governing board of the power and water utilities, in addition to the governor’s office.
Records demanded by the OAG range in dates. Some relate to, or appear related to, Typhoon Mawar response and preparation, while others date back to well before the storm. Other demanded documents go back to the beginning of May, the month Mawar hit Guam, although the typhoon struck near the end of the month.
In general, the OAG demanded correspondence and documents related to government procurement, or reports and assessments related to power and water infrastructure and assets.
DOA, specifically, was commanded to provide correspondence between the General Services Agency and Sorensen Media Group.
The government had purchased air time from Sorenson for a post-typhoon talk show, a decision that drew criticism from Attorney General Douglas Moylan and other elected officials.
GHS/OCD and DOA have both moved to quash their subpoenas at the Superior Court of Guam, each using the term “fishing expedition” to describe what they say are overly broad demands for records that would divert resources away from typhoon response efforts.
Simon Sanchez, a commissioner with the CCU, also called the subpoenas to the utilities a fishing expedition, but the CCU and the power and water utilities have nonetheless complied with the OAG’s commands.
While they are now challenging their subpoenas, GHS/OCD and DOA were initially required to bring documents and testify before an investigative grand jury June 20.
‘No valid reason’
The governor’s office also was commanded to appear June 20 and, similar to subpoenas issued to GHS/OCD and DOA, the OAG demanded purchase orders, quote solicitations and correspondence regarding purchase orders from the governor’s office, from May 1 to the present.
Like with GHS/OCD, the governor’s office was commanded to bring documents showing correspondence related to media requests to be on-site at the GHS/OCD bunker during Typhoon Mawar, according to the office’s motion to quash.
This is the “most obvious evidence” that the subpoena is “simply a fishing expedition” unrelated to a focused criminal investigation, according to lawyers for the governor’s office.
“If any such correspondence exists, the OAG is demanding correspondence from nongovernmental entities requesting the government officials responsible for coordinating the response to Typhoon Mawar exercise discretion and allow non government employees into a government facility during a natural disaster,” the motion to quash from the governor’s office stated.
“There is no possible criminal liability for any government official denying civilians access to the facilities of GHS/OCD during an emergency,” the motion added. “If there is no possible criminal liability from denying civilians access to a government facility, then there can be no valid reason related to a criminal investigation for such a request.”
The governor’s office also pointed to the hardships that complying with the subpoena would create, again stating that it would divert critical personnel and resources from response efforts.
The subpoena to the governor’s office is also duplicative, the motion stated, since GHS/OCD received essentially the same subpoena. GHS/OCD are offices within the governor’s office, and are being represented by attorneys with the governor’s office.
The governor’s office submitted its motion June 19 to quash the subpoena.
On June 22, pursuant to a stipulation between the OAG and the governor’s office, the court ordered that a briefing schedule be set for the motion to quash, and for the return date of the subpoena to be set at four weeks after a decision is made.
The Ricardo J. Bordallo Governor’s Complex in Adelup is shown Thursday, May 4, 2023.
