Details sought in lawsuit vs federalization
Citing the Open Government Act, a lawmaker has asked Gov. Benigno R. Fitial to disclose information related to the lawsuit Fitial had filed against the U.S. government over the new immigration law.
Rep. Tina Sablan requested copies of all contracts related to the lawsuit, including any contracts between the CNMI government and Jenner & Block, as well as any private attorneys or law firms involved in the suit.
She also asked for documents on payments made on the contracts and the funding sources. She called on the governor to identify government agencies that have had their funds reprogrammed to fund the lawsuit, and the amounts of money taken from them.
In addition, Sablan asked the governor to comment on concerns about the constitutionality of his decision to file the lawsuit without the explicit consent of the CNMI attorney general. The Constitution states that the AG should represent the Commonwealth in all legal matters.
Under the law, the governor has 10 days to respond to the request. “I expect we will comply and have a response within the time period allowed by law,” said press secretary Charles P. Reyes Jr.
On Sept. 12, 2008, Fitial filed the lawsuit in the federal court for the District of Columbia in a bid to block the pending federal takeover of local labor and immigration.
How Fitial is funding the lawsuit remains undisclosed. He says “concerned private individuals” paid for the legal review conducted prior to the filing of the lawsuit, but refuses to name them in public. He has asked the Legislature to appropriate money for the lawsuit, but the lawmakers have declined to do so, saying the CNMI cannot afford a court battle against the deep-pocketed U.S. government.
The U.S.-based Jenner & Block law firm, which did the legal review and represents the governor in the lawsuit, is supposed to be receiving a fee of $50,000 a month for its services.
