(Press Release) — Democratic Rep. Christina Marie “Tina” Sablan delivered the following statement during the public comments section of the Senate’s impeachment hearing regarding attorney Ross Garber’s role on Monday, May 16, 2022:
“Mr. Garber was not sworn in as a witness, nor was he on the witness list. But he appears to have testified to matters of fact regarding the factual basis of Article VI of the Articles of Impeachment.
“He is admitted pro hac vice to the CNMI Bar for the limited and sole purpose of representing Governor Torres in his civil suit against the [House] JGO Committee, and appeared as counsel today in violation of the terms of that pro hac vice admission.
“Insultingly to our Commonwealth, and sanctionable in court, he provided no citation whatsoever either to the CNMI Constitution or to any CNMI caselaw to support his assertions, drawn from federal contexts, regarding the separation of powers.
“He knowingly misrepresented the facts of a case in which he himself appeared as counsel. In the Connecticut case he mentioned, the Connecticut House committee was prepared to enforce its subpoena via an article of impeachment, just like Article VI of the present articles, as opposed to via criminal prosecution, which it disclaimed.
“A formal referral from the Speaker is indeed a referral from the full House, as Mr. Garber knows perfectly well.
“Contrary to his assertion, Governor Torres does have a specific statutory duty under Commonwealth law to comply with legislative investigations, namely under 1 CMC § 1308, which provides ‘the officers and employees of the Commonwealth shall cooperate with any investigating committee and with its representatives and furnish to it or to its representatives such information as may be called for in connection with the research activities of the committee.’
“Governor Torres neglected this statutory duty, which is indeed an enumerated constitutional ground for impeachment.”
The governor’s U.S.-based attorney, Ross Garber, testifies via videoconference during the Senate impeachment hearing Monday morning.
