AG: 'Bring on E-mailgate action'

Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi
Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi

ATTORNEY General Faris Al-Rawi yesterday challenged the Opposition Leader to take legal action against the Prime Minister over E-mailgate.

Al-Rawi also declared that Kamla Persad-Bissessar failed in 2013 to "completely exonerate herself" by producing her devices for inspection by the police.

"She refused to do it."

He made these statements to reporters after a function at the Arthur Lok Jack School of Business in Mt Hope.

"Her thought about bringing an action against Dr Rowley. I would welcome it."

Al-Rawi opined, "She would be on a very, very difficult path if she tried that."

He was confident Rowley would win legal costs from such a matter.

"Perhaps Dr Rowley could use that for some charitable purpose or some further benefit,"

Referring to the letter which Deputy Director of Public Prosections Joan Honore-Paul sent to Rowley about the end of the E-mailgate investigation, Al-Rawi said, "The (Deputy) DPP was very careful to set out that the existence of the e-mails could neither be confirmed nor denied."

The US Department of Justice (DoJ) said this arose out of the fact that e-mails could have been deleted and the request made, was only for e-mails from September 2012.

Al-Rawi reminded reporters Persad-Bissessar was in office when that request was made. He recalled the sight of former Office of the Prime Minister aide (now Princes Town MP) Barry Padarath going in and out of the Police Administration Building with a box full of electronic devices in 2013.

"There was one way to conclusively end E-mailgate. One man exercised it: (then national security minister and current Police Commissioner) Gary Griffith."

While Griffith surrendered his device, Al-Rawi reiterated that Persad-Bissessar and other former ministers "refused to hand over their equipment."

That equipment could have conclusively demonstrated whether the e-mails were there or not, he said, and Persad-Bissessar "is playing smart with foolishness" and continued to suffer from "a flight of fantasy."

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