5 to prosecute case vs Torres

Rep. Corina L. Magofna (D-Saipan) declined her selection yesterday to be the House impeachment prosecutor. Instead, House of Representatives Speaker Edmund S. Villagomez (Ind-Saipan) filed a notice of appearance for Magofna and four other representatives to serve as one team to prosecute Gov. Ralph DLG Torres in his impeachment hearing in the Senate.

Magofna will be joined by vice speaker Blas Jonathan Attao (R-Saipan) and Reps. Celina R. Babauta (D-Saipan), Donald Manglona (Ind-Rota), and Leila Staffler (D-Saipan) in making the case for Torres’ impeachment.

At a press conference in the House chamber, Magofna said she puts Senate president Jude U. Hofschneider (R-Tinian) on notice that the House stands ready to prosecute Torres and that they have been preparing as a unit to prosecute the impeachment case together.

Magofna

“You requested one prosecutor, we have chosen one prosecutorial team consisting of five members,” said the lawmaker, adding that the Senate has no right to ignore their decision and proceed without them.

Magofna clarified that she is not backing down as she would take whatever challenges are being thrown at her. “I would like to do this as a team effort and not just myself,” she said.

Villagomez filed yesterday a notice of entry of the collective appearance to the Senate for Magofna, Attao, Babauta, Manglona, and Staffler as members of the House prosecution team.

Blas Jonathan T. Attao

In his notice Tuesday, Hofschneider told Magofna that if she fails to file and enter an appearance as the House impeachment prosecutor by yesterday, Wednesday, at 4pm, the Senate will move forward with the impeachment deadlines and hearing, with or without a House impeachment prosecutor.

At the press conference yesterday, Villagomez reiterated the reasons why he and Attao declined the Senate’s request to serve as House impeachment prosecutor.

Senate Committee on Impeachment Hearing chair Sen. Karl R. King-Nabors (R-Tinian) earlier requested Villagomez to serve as House impeachment prosecutor, but Villagomez declined.

Celina R. Babauta

King-Nabors then sent Attao a notice to file an appearance as the House impeachment prosecutor, considering that Attao served as chairman of the House Special Impeachment Committee. Attao also declined.

At yesterday’s press conference, Magofna said Villagomez and Attao both indicated that the House was preparing as a cohesive team, not as individuals, to prosecute the matter.

Magofna said the House has not selected any members to serve a sole House impeachment prosecutor and assuming that one member must be selected, this decision should be made by the House leadership, not Hofschneider.

Manglona

The lawmaker said Villagomez declined and Attao was unable to either accept or reject the order to enter an appearance based on the unconstitutional rules and violations of the Open Government Act as well as the fact that the Senate Impeachment Rules are the product of attorneys that were employed by Hofschneider or Torres himself.

Magofna said Hofschneider has no authority to issue a notice Tuesday at 12pm and demand a response by 4pm the next day, even “under the biased Senate rules.”

Rep. Christina E. Sablan (D-Saipan) said the Senate leadership has yet to explain why they insist that there be one impeachment prosecutor.

“One prosecutor or no prosecutor at all, it makes no sense. It defies logic. We argue that it’s unconstitutional as well,” Sablan said.

Meanwhile, she said, Torres has no restrictions whatsoever in the Senate impeachment. Sablan said what the House and the speaker are asking is for a chance for their team, the team that has been appointed by Villagomez to make their case.