COP: It wasn’t us

JENSEN LA VENDE

Leader of the Congress of the People (COP) Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan says her party had nothing to do with illegal data mining done in TT five years ago while it was part of the People’s Partnership (PP) government.

Speaking at a media conference at the Chancellor Hotel yesterday, Seepersad-Bachan supported the decision by Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi to launch an investigation into the matter.

In Parliament last week, Al-Rawi announced an investigation into whether the PP administration hired a company which used TT as a test site for illegal data mining. The investigation comes after whistleblower Christopher Wylie, former research director of Cambridge Analytica, said he was hired in 2013 to do illegal data collection. Cambridge Analytica, AggregateIQ (AIQ), the Strategic Communication Laboratories Group (SCL) and their affiliate companies allegedly conducted illegal data and communication mining activities in TT in 2013 under the then United National Congress (UNC) led PP. Following the announcement, Opposition Leader and leader of the UNC Kamla Persad-Bissessar distanced her party from any affiliation with the companies calling Al-Rawi’s claim fake news.

Yesterday, Seepersad-Bachan also claimed her party did not enter into any contract, verbal or written with SCL or Cambridge Analytica. She said she felt it necessary to “clear the air” as there were some misconceptions about the involvement of the COP. She added there was discussion with the companies to do press releases and imaging for the 2013 local government election but it never went any further than that. She said she investigated her party to verify that the COP was not involved in, what she described as, misbehaviour in public office.

“Our investigations also revealed that at no point in time were party funds used to pay for any activities carried out. I contacted former political leader Prakash Ramadhar and former deputy political leader Dr Anirudh Mahabir. Mr Ramadhar indicated that there were some engagement and discussions with the COP and SCL, now Cambridge Ananlytica.”

Seepersad-Bachan added that, as chairman in 2013, she was not aware of the extent of the engagement with the data mining company but was aware that Ramadhar and then vice-chairman Nicole Dyer-Griffith did speak with SCL regarding re-imaging of the party. She said there were discussions from as far back as 2009 for a customer-relationship-management system since the COP had their membership list on an excel spreadsheet but nothing came off the ground and there was no payment made or agreed to be made at any time.

She quoted Wylie who spoke at the UK’s House of Commons last Tuesday saying he had contractual documents and e-mails with respect to certain projects involving a minister of national security, who was later identified as former COP member Gary Griffith and this project involved getting raw ISP data to monitor what people were browsing, which Wylie admitted was illegal. Griffith was reported as saying he spoke with SCL but nothing was approved and no contracts were signed or any payments made. When the Sunday Newsday called his cellphone his phone was switched off, so too was his wife’s Dyer-Griffith.

Seepersad-Bachan said, “We need to investigate what that whistleblower is saying because if that indeed happened in TT and we did allow this kind of illegal activity to take place, then we must get to the bottom of this. Today I say I fully support the Government of TT investigating this matter, because any such illegality must not be allowed to take place in our country.

“Furthermore it is important to determine those who are culpable for supporting this type of illegality, if it indeed takes place and if public officers were involved. It is important for us to understand if public funds were used at any point in time to support and fund such illegal activity.”

She added the investigation should be done quickly to determine if any illegality took place and who was behind it.

She said if at the end of the COP’s internal investigation, which was still ongoing and, so far, had cleared all members of wrongdoing, if any member of the COP entered into a contract with SCL then they did so on their own frolic and without the approval of the party or its executive. Seepersad-Bachan added that if any member was found to have entered into a contract then they would be exposed as she had no plans to keep such illegal activities private.

Asked if any other political party that formed the PP entered into any agreement with SCL or Cambridge Analytica, she said she was unaware. She said she was unaware as to why her political party was being affiliated with the data mining as all her party did was have discussions about press releases and image re-branding but that never took place as the party could not afford to hire the companies. She added that there was no payment or promise of payment by or through the COP.