The 8 members of the committee, excluding Committee Chair Attao, consisted of Republican representatives – Angel Demapan, Joseph Lee Pan Guerrero, and Patrick San San Nicolas; Independent Representatives Joseph Flores and Donald Mangloña; and Democratic Representatives Corina Magofna, Christina Marie Sablan, and Leila Staffler.
PNC previously reported that CNMI House Resolution 22-14 was for the impeachment of CNMI Governor Ralph Torres. In connection to Article 2 Section 8 of the Constitution of the Commonwealth.
“The legislature may impeach those executive and judicial officers of the Commonwealth subject to impeachment under this Constitution. The house of representatives may initiate impeachment proceedings by the affirmative vote of two-thirds of its members and the senate may convict after hearing by the affirmative vote of two-thirds of its members.”
The impeachment process, is in connection of felonies, corruption and neglect of duty in violation of Article 3 section 19 of the CNMI constitution.
Representative Sablan further reports that the agreement also reflects the months of legislative investigation prior to the JGO proceedings which began during the CNMI’s 21st legislature in December 2019.
In response, Governor Torres said, “The false allegations put out by the JGO are nothing more than a politically charged group of Democrats conspiring to sensationalize misleading information so that they may divide the community and seize power for themselves.”
He claims that no illegal activity has been proven.
Furthermore, according to the Office of the Governor of the CNMI, should the articles of impeachment pass the house and advance to the senate, Torres says that he will prove that the allegations against him are false and illegal or outside the scope of his authority as Governor.
The story is developing…
