Senate committee on impeachment created
Senate President Jude U. Hofschneider (R-Tinian) formed yesterday a special committee that will look into House Resolution 22-14, which impeached Gov. Ralph DLG Torres for alleged commission of felonies, corruption, and neglect of duty.
During the Senate’s session at the Tinian Superior Courthouse, Hofschneider announced the appointment of senators to the special committee on impeachment hearing. They are Sen. Karl R. King-Nabors (R-Tinian) as chairman, Sen. Justo S. Quitugua (R-Saipan) as vice chairman, and members Sens. Francisco Q. Cruz (R-Tinian), Victor B. Hocog (R-Rota), and Teresita A. Santos (Ind-Rota).
“I will be issuing a memo for your perusal,” Hofschneider told committee members.
Hofschneider earlier tasked King-Nabors and Cruz, chairpersons of the Committee on Judiciary, Government, Law, and Federal Relations, and Committee on Executive, Appointments and Government Investigations, respectively, to draft the Impeachment Rules.
The joint committees agreed that House Resolution 22-14 that impeached Torres should only be tackled after the full Senate’s adoption of the 28-page Impeachment Rules, which the full Senate did last March 3.
The adoption of Impeachment Rules sets the stage for what is expected to be a partisan brawl between the Republican-controlled Senate and the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives that will decide whether to remove or not Torres as governor. Torres, who is the titular head of the CNMI Republican Party, is seeking re-election this Nov. 8 election.
