SPEAKER Edmund S. Villagomez has appointed Vice Speaker Blas Jonathan Attao as chairman of the special investigating committee on impeachment.
The members are Reps. Angel Demapan, Joseph Flores, Joseph Leepan Guerrero, Corina Magofna, Donald Manglona, Tina Sablan, Patrick San Nicolas and Leila Staffler.
Attao supports the independent gubernatorial candidacy of Lt. Gov. Arnold I. Palacios while Sablan is the Democratic candidate for governor.
Demapan, Guerrero, San Nicolas are Republicans. Flores is an independent aligned with the Republicans.
Magofna and Staffler are Democrats. Manglona is an independent aligned with Democrats.
In his memorandum on Tuesday, the speaker said the panel “shall be an investigatory committee… authorized by the House to issue subpoenas.”
He said the articles set forth in House Resolution 22-14, which calls for the impeachment of Republican Gov. Ralph DLG Torres, “are a matter pending before the committee….”
Of the panel’s nine members, five have signed the impeachment resolution: Attao, Magofna, Manglona, Sablan and Staffler.
Speaker Villagomez said the committee has 30 days to submit written report on H.R. 22-14, unless the chair requests additional time.
“I urge this special investigative committee to promptly review the aforementioned [resolution],” the speaker added.
Above reproach
For his part, the governor’s legal counsel, Gil Birnbrich, is asking the speaker to create an impeachment committee that is “evenly divided” between Republicans and Democrats in the House, adding that it should not include anyone who is running for governor.
The impeachment committee, he added, “should be above reproach” given the significance of the potential removal of a governor elected by the people of the CNMI.
In addition, he said the committee “should not have among its members anyone…who has previously expressed an opinion on the guilt of the governor of the allegations asserted in the pending impeachment resolution.”
Birnbrich added, “The public should have confidence that the members of the committee, who are considering the removal of a governor chosen in an election, [are] not motivated by prejudice, bias or partisan considerations.”
Birnbrich said the House should also adopt “explicit rules” that will govern the impeachment process. These include the admission of evidence, the taking of testimony, and due process afforded to the governor, he added.
“Absent rules, the special committee will be making ad hoc decisions on these critical matters, which would undermine the public’s confidence in its legitimacy. In other jurisdictions, House committees evaluating the impeachment of governors have operated according to such rules,” Birnbrich said. He provided the speaker with copies of the rules governing the House impeachment committees in Illinois and Connecticut.
“An impeachment process is a grave undertaking with implications for the entire government of CNMI and for the future of the Commonwealth. We hope to work cooperatively with you to ensure the process has the requisite reliability and dignity,” Birnbrich added.
Vice Speaker Blas Jonathan Attao, left, listens to Rep. Donald Manglona while Rep. Tina Sablan discusses a matter with House legal counsel Joe Taijeron — not in photo — during a break from a House session on Aug. 3, 2021.
