Attorney General Anand Ramlogan says if the report of a spying device being found in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions is true, it raises concerns about a serious breach of the security of the DPP’s office. Ramlogan, however, questioned why no report was brought to the National Security Council, of which he is a member, on the matter. “It would have to be brought to the attention of the council and no such report has ever been made...And that is a matter of national security,” he said.
He was commenting on a story published in the T&T Guardian yesterday, which revealed a spying device was detected inside the conference room of Gaspard’s office at Winsure Building, Richmond Street, Port-of-Spain, in November last year. It was reported the device was detected after a search was carried out by both foreign and local information technology (IT) experts on the fifth floor of the building. A tip-off reportedly led Gaspard to initiate the search.
Saying the reported discovery of the device raised a number of questions, Ramlogan said these included how long it was there. “The former administration was also known to be spying on key public officials, including the President, the Chief Justice and the DPP,” he said. “And there are cases involving two former PNM ministers that the DPP was prosecuting.”
He also questioned why the story was “now being leaked” six months after the alleged incident occurred and on the heels of allegations made in Parliament by Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley. During his motion of no confidence against Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and her Government on Monday, Rowley read excerpts from some 31 e-mails purported to have come from the addresses of several key government officials. One of the e-mails discussed a plot to tap the DPP’s phone after the Section 34 fiasco.
“This comes on the heels of Dr Rowley’s ‘E-mailgate’ as if to breathe life back into it. And why on the day of the People’s Partnership Government celebrating its third anniversary in office?” Ramlogan asked. “The timing is suspect and reeks of a political conspiracy.” The PP celebrated its third year in office with a rally in Chaguanas yesterday.
Also commenting on the matter yesterday, PNM public relations officer, Faris Al Rawi, said the bugging of the DPP’s office also raised concerns about the constitutionally appointed office of the DPP, but also noted it reinforced the party’s call for an independent probe of the e-mails scandal matter. “This drives to the heart of the issues brought to the public by Dr Rowley and it reinforces the need for an immediate independent investigation,” Al Rawi told the T&T Guardian.
“But it also concerns the integrity of a constitutionally appointed office.” He said he expected Gaspard to make “careful clarification” on the matter as he always did.