Rodney Charles: Cambridge Analytica a distraction

Naparima MP Rodney Charles calls the Cambridge Analytica scandal another distraction by the PNM.

Charles, along with fellow Opposition MPs David Lee, Ramona Ramdial and Rudranath Indarsingh, held a press conference yesterday at the Office of the Opposition Leader in Port of Spain.

Charles said the Government is simply creating distractions so the population would not notice that the criminals have taken over.

"I want to tell the Attorney General (AG) to try something else, because this will not work. Come better than that," he added.

He also said the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is 50 per cent understaffed and hence ineffective.

"They could bring all the legislation they want. It will all bottleneck at the DPP's office because they are understaffed."

Lee said the United National Congress (UNC) had no part to play in the scandal involving the former British political consulting firm and that they "fear nothing," while Ramdial said the Cambridge Analytica issue was nothing but "deflection." Ramdial added that she believes the issue, much like the E-mailgate situation, will result in nothing substantial.

In a phone interview with Newsday, AG Faris Al-Rawi said the issue with Cambridge Analytica is a serious and global issue that has now resulted in social media giant Facebook being fined US$5 billion for its role in the matter.

Al-Rawi, referring to the Netflix documentary The Great Hack, which featured the Cambridge Analytica issue, said, "Mr Charles, as a spokesperson and campaign manager for the UNC, is in a desperate state due to the vivid imagery that highlighted the party he belongs to in a worldwide scandal."

Al-Rawi said he is not worried by Charles's claims, and that as AG he has a duty to come to a conclusion on the matter and his office's attorneys have been in contact with those of data consultant and former Cambridge Analytica employee Christopher Wylie.

Al-Rawi stressed that the issue is a severe and important one, as he has met with US bodies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the US Department of Justice and the District Attorney of New York as well as the United Kingdom's Information Commisioner's office and the Crown Prosecution Services at the National Crime Agency in the UK.