Sources: Senate may muscle Kara out

With no end sight to the brewing controversy over the appointment of acting Attorney General Maya B. Kara, the Senate is expected to unleash a strongly-worded report calling for the ouster of the chief government lawyer.

Sources from the legislature, who refused to be named, said that if Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio insists on retaining Kara to the critical post, the Senate committee on Executive Appointments and Governmental Investigations will come out with the report to force her out of office.

Kara, whose nomination had been bypassed twice by the EAGI, has refused to step down, saying that she would remain as acting AG unless the local chief executive appoints another official to the position.

Senate’s failure to remove Kara has sparked a major conflict with the administration, whose other nominations were met with overwhelming approval by the nine-member chamber.

But Tenorio last week hinted a wavering of his initial position to stick by his AG nominee despite clear Senate rejection — a sign that may mean he would back down to mounting pressure.

The alleged report from the EAGI was drafted weeks earlier, but remained with the committee pending outcome of negotiations with the governor on the AG appointment, the source said.

Kara’s ouster apparently was bolstered by the controversy sparked by the issuance of travel authorization (TA) to an applicant on CNMI government account, who is seeking a job at the Attorney General’s Office as chief of investigation.

Although Kara has offered to reimburse the government the amount it spent because of her TA request, she has drawn the ire of Senators Pete P. Reyes and Thomas P. Villagomez who both have openly opposed her appointment.

The two legislators are EAGI members who may initiate the move to adopt the committee report when the Senate holds its next session, the source pointed out.

Visibly affected by charges leveled against her, the embattled acting AG has repeatedly defended her actions following the decision to settle the multimillion dollar contract between the defunct Marianas Visitors Bureau and the Tokyo-based advertising firm I&S Corp.

The deal opposed by most legislators came a few weeks after Kara was named to the post last July, prompting a Senate investigation that accused the former House legal counsel of influencing the decision because her husband works for a law firm representing I&S.