“IT’S been almost 70 days since the Articles of Impeachment were given to the Senate,” minority bloc Sen. Paul A. Manglona said during a Senate session Thursday.
“However, it is no surprise that there has been no forward movement on the impeachment process. Since day one, I have been advocating for fairness. Obviously, my pleas have fallen on deaf ears because here we are today,” he added.
He said he is “pleased” that the Senate president has abolished the special committee on impeachment and referred the House articles of impeachment to the full Senate body.
“This is what our Constitution mandates and what the people of the Commonwealth have been asking for since day one,” Manglona said.
“Now, there is still the issue of the unconstitutional Senate impeachment rules. Do we scrap the rules? Do we revisit the very rules that the sitting governor drafted and adopted while he was a senator in the 18th Legislature for the impeachment of former Gov. [Benigno R.] Fitial? Let’s do this the right way. We should allow the House to choose who they want to prosecute their case. This way, we can examine the full extent of their case and make our best judgment based on their presentation.
“All the people are asking for is justice, not war. And in this very seat that I am occupying, I am asking for justice for the people of the Commonwealth. Mr. President and colleagues, I know we can do better,” Manglona said.
He noted that the chairman of the special committee on impeachment, Sen. Karl King-Nabors, “only chose to disclose the very shocking fact of [attorney] Viola Alepuyo’s involvement in reviewing the impeachment rules” after Manglona, brought “this scandalous ex parte communication to light.”
Alepuyo was retained by Gov. Ralph DLG Torres to represent him in the impeachment proceedings.
Manglona said documents showed that she had made edits to the proposed Senate impeachment rules prior to their adoption by the Senate.
King-Nabors said Alepuyo was not the governor’s legal counsel at the time so there were no ex parte communications.
But according to Manglona, “After the Senate leadership vehemently announced at the March 3 session, to this very body and the viewing public, that the committee worked hard on these rules and they do not represent the governor, Sen. Karl King-Nabors’ actions, along with the special committee, tell us otherwise. In fact, there are jarring accusations of this Senate body being involved in a cover-up.”
Manglona said the Senate special committee knew that Alepuyo reviewed and provided input on the impeachment rules when the Senate voted on the rules on March 3, 2022.
“This is a grave issue. It is very fortunate that this important fact came to light prior to the commencement of the impeachment hearing,” Manglona said.
He added that the Senate cannot also ignore the involvement of attorney Joe McDoulett “in this whole process.”
“Like Viola Alepuyo,” Manglona said, “Joe McDoulett is not an employee of the Legislative Bureau. Our CNMI Constitution clearly states, ‘the bureau shall provide all required services to the legislature in connection with the duties and responsibilities during sessions and committee meetings.’ ”
Manglona likewise reiterated that the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Government, Law and Federal Relations chaired by Senator King-Nabors and the Senate Committee on Executive Appointments and Government Investigations chaired by Sen. Francisco Q. Cruz, which were tasked to draft the Senate impeachment rules, “chose to forgo public comment at the joint committee meeting.”
Manglona said the Senate likewise limited the time allowed by its rules for public comment at a previous Senate session held on Feb. 28, 2022.
“This is very disturbing,” he added. “Further, this body has been contending that the House of Representatives should not dictate how we run our house as we are a separate house of the Legislature, yet our impeachment rules command who will represent the House and present its case at the impeachment proceedings while we let the sitting governor pick and choose his army of lawyers to defend him.”
