Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and two government ministers’ failure to surrender their devices to police suggests they have no intention of getting to the bottom of the e-mail-gate investigation. According to People National Movement public relations officer Faris Al Rawi, the Government was again contradicting itself, having initially put faith in the police to investigate the matter and now refusing to co-operate.
He was commenting on statements made by lead investigator DCP Mervyn Richardson that politicians were not co-operating as they had previously pledged. Al Rawi said Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley had already given his consent for police to check his Internet accounts. Al Rawi said, “I believe this Government has no real intention of getting to the bottom of this issue so I think the progress of this investigation and how the Government deals with it is nothing surprising to us.”
On Wednesday, Persad-Bissessar, Attorney General Anand Ramlogan and Local Government Minister Dr Suruj Rambachan refused to hand over their computers and mobile devices to police investigating incriminating e-mails purportedly sent from their addresses. Only National Security Adviser Gary Griffith surrendered his devices.
Al Rawi said the PNM was worried that citizens were becoming desensitised by the rate the Government controversies were occurring, and that citizens had lost faith in the progress and pace of the investigation. He said if they were really serious about co-operating, they would give investigators permission to access the relevant information from their respective Internet service providers
“I mean you are now looking at devices which are months after the fact. Who is to say these devices weren’t changed, computer chips weren’t pulled out from the hard drive or it’s a new hard drive?”
Khan: PM committed to investigations
Persad-Bissessar’s attorney Israel Khan, SC, said the PM was still committed to co-operating with investigators once the necessary criteria are met. In an interview yesterday, Khan said when the PM turned up at the Police Administration Building last week, it was under an agreement with Richardson that it be done in the presence of her lawyer and IT expert, and the information being extracted must be confined to September 2010; the month the e-mails were allegedly sent.
He said once these matters are agreed upon, they would return with the devices. “It will be a serious dereliction of duty, and it would be irresponsible of the Prime Minister if she were to hand over her devices that she uses in conducting state business to the police for them to keep and examine.” He said the PM has information of national and international importance, and while they trust the investigators, there may be intrusive people wanting to know what was on the devices.