Former attorney general Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj has written to Chargé d’Affaires of the US Embassy in T&T, Thomas Smitham, over the contents of e-mails produced in Parliament last week. Maharaj told Smitham that if the contents of the e-mails were accurate and authentic, serious questions would arise as to whether the conduct referred to therein amounted to a conspiracy to frustrate extradition proceedings for people who were to be sent from T&T to the US.
He said such a conspiracy would be a federal criminal offence punishable in the US under federal law. The two-page letter penned on Friday stated, “Having regard to the passionate commitment which the Government of the United States of America has demonstrated in its fight against organised crime, I believe the government would therefore be interested in the serious issues which were raised in the e-mails made available to the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago.”
Maharaj urged the US government to consider whether the contents of the e-mails were sufficiently important for it and its relevant agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigations, to investigate. He added, “Having regard to the great public importance of this matter, I am treating this letter as an open letter.
“I am respectfully requesting you to have the contents of this letter brought to the attention of the President of the United States of America, President Barack Obama, and to the attention of the Secretary of State, the Honourable Mr John Kerry.”