“I DON’T think there’s ever a wrong time to do the right thing.”
This was Rep. Christina Marie “Tina” Sablan’s response to the NMI Republican Party’s statement that the criminal case filed by Attorney General Edward Manibusan against Republican Gov. Ralph DLG Torres was “politically motivated.”
Manibusan is a former Democratic Party chair.
The NMI Democratic Party’s gubernatorial candidate, Sablan said for “criminal prosecutions, to bring charges of this nature, it takes… reviewing records, interviewing witnesses — the Attorney General in his statement made that very clear that this has been part of a months-long process of investigation and doing his own due diligence.”
She added, “The facts are the facts and it is really now up to Governor Torres to defend his own case and address the questions and the concerns that have been raised by the Legislature, by the public about these misuses of public resources and these violations of laws. That has nothing to do with politics. That has everything to do with governance and the respect for the rule of law.”
Sablan said the AG’s office “did its own investigation independent of the impeachment process, and now there is this criminal prosecution that is underway. So, I thank the attorney general for standing up for the people, standing up against misuse of government resources and abuses of power. The rule of law is so important for people to have any trust in their government and the attorney general took steps today to preserve and protect the rule of law.”
Governor Torres, who is represented by attorneys Viola Alepuyo and Anthony Aguon, has declined to comment on the pending litigation.
The information filed by the AG’s office in Superior Court charges Torres with 12 counts of misconduct in public office and one count of theft relating to the issuance of airline tickets for business class, first class, or other premium class travel for himself and/or first lady Diann T. Torres.
The governor was likewise charged with contempt for failure to appear in compliance with a House subpoena whose validity he has challenged in court.
Tina Sablan
