Dismissal motions considered in CNMI AG's case against governor

Over in the Northern Marianas, motions to dismiss the criminal charges brought by the attorney general against Governor Ralph Torres were heard in Superior Court Thursday afternoon. Those charges mirror the articles of impeachment that failed to pass the NMI Senate.

Motions to dismiss were heard in Superior Court Thursday afternoon in the case of CNMI v. Ralph Torres before Guam judge Alberto Tolentino. In April, the attorney general charged the governor with a dozen counts of misconduct in public, one count of theft related to his and the First Lady’s first-class travel, and one count of contempt for violating a legislative subpoena.

Today, the central question was the timing of those charges and the intent of the governor in purchasing airline tickets, and the intent of the attorney general for filing the charges amid an impeachment trial, election year, and accusations of the same type of travel by him and his staff.

The statute of limitations is two years for misconduct in public office and the governor’s attorneys, Victorino Torres and Matthew Holley, argued that the case is time-barred and in their view, one term of an office is distinct from another.

Meanwhile, prosecutors Chief Solicitor J. Robert Glass, Jr. and Assistant Attorney General Steven Kessell say that’s not the case and the governor essentially transfers “powers” to himself when entering the same office.

In separate arguments, the judge also posed the question that if the AG should have prosecuted earlier if they knew of the allegations in 2019. The prosecution says that investigations take time, especially one into the chief executive.

The defense argued that there was also selective prosecution by the AG, to which they responded that they have evidence that there was no targeted investigation.

The governor continues to find himself embroiled in legal battles as he makes his bid to be re-elected. Several Democrat lawmakers attended the hearing after Torres was acquitted by the Senate in May.