Seventeen Days in September... (Show Me Your Motion IV)

It was a wet Monday afternoon when the Leader of the Opposition stood up in the Parliament to prosecute his motion of no confidence brought against the government in his name, and no one in that House, in the visitors gallery or in front of televisions and computer screens throughout the country and around the world were prepared for what he was about to say. His un-animated lead in belied the fact that this motion was going to be different from all the others and might have real substance, and his uncharacteristic underplaying of this 'bombshell' indicated to me after the fact that he was well aware that, when he was finished, business as usual in Trinidad & Tobago was not going to be the same. In his hands he held aloft documents that alleged an exchange that took place over the course of seventeen days leading up to, including and following on from the Guardian expose that led to the public outcry against what became the Section 34 fiasco, that went on to allege the government's questionable and unorthodox attempts to contain this same expose and the concomitant fallout through some very shady means, and featured thirty one emails alleged to have taken place between none other than the Attorney General Anand Ramlogan SC, Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar SC, the Prime Minister's security advisor Gary Griffith, and the then Minister of Local Government, Surujattan Rambachan themselves. These emails exchanges also allegedly called the names of a journalist, her high level sources (including but not limited to at least one high ranking official at the United States Embassy), the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Chief Justice, and the then Minister of Justice Herbert Volney.

It alleged that high level government officials were prepared to do whatever it took to 'kill' the story, including visiting personal harm on at least one journalist, of moves to have the Director of Public Prosecutions managed through electronic eavesdropping and neutered via a 'promotion' to the 'Bench,' and by the time he was finished the country was literally abuzz with rumors and allegations of misbehavior in the country's highest Offices, tales of intrigue that ran the gamut from cover ups, bribes, conspiracy and threats against persons, and, as was to be expected, the public's opinion on the veracity of the claims cleaved straight down party lines and did not require any further investigation or validation for or against.

Leading the charge in response against the damning allegations in a press conference called immediately after, the Prime Minister herself attempted to debunk the entire thing as fraud, and while she agreed that the email address listed was in fact hers, the email alleged to have been sent to and from it are total fabrication and were never sent by her. She also said that she had asked that Acting Police Commissioner Williams investigate the authenticity of the emails and take whatever action according to the law. And what of the Attorney General, the man alleged to be calling the shots as it were in the exchange? His screeching denial in the Parliament did little to calm the growing unease as he wasted too much of his time throwing mud back at the leader of the Opposition, attempting to make the entire affair appear a personal matter between the two of them.

So where are we as of this writing? Some glaring inconsistencies from my point of view, not to argue for or against, just to point out what is not making sense to me. The Opposition Leader claims to have had these emails in his possession for over six months, yet did nothing to verify if they were in fact the smoking gun he believed them to be so that they could be laid indictably at their owner's feet? This more than anything raises a flag for me. Also, at that time the de-facto leader of everything in that party and partnership was Jack Warner, yet during these highest levels of subterfuge and conspiracy his name was not called even once? Not even as someone copied in the exchange? Despite the fact that the very government was at stake? And he was the Minister of National Security?

As Niccolò Machiavelli is noted to have said - “There are three classes of intellects: one which comprehends by itself; another which appreciates what others comprehend; and a third which neither comprehends by itself nor by the showing of others; the first is the most excellent, the second is good, and the third is useless.” The Opposition is standing by their claims that these emails are the genuine article and that it is in fact a bonafide exchange, while the named government members are insisting that it is a fraudulent hoax for political reasons. So what are we to do? We need to think our way through this if we are to survive as a nation, not by speculation or bacchanal but through investigation to ascertain where the truth lies. Clearly this is a job for the cyber crimes unit if not for the intervention of some serious scientists from the FBI and Scotland Yard. In winding up his presentation the Opposition Leader called on the DPP to take action to protect citizens, and for President Anthony Carmona to move swiftly to appoint members to the Integrity Commission so that it could investigate the claims made. Dr. Rowley for his part appears to have gone all in on this bet and he needs to be absolutely certain for this to deliver a desirable outcome, otherwise he is going to lose very badly. 

To quote former Senator Professor Patrick Watson - “If those e-mails are true, it's the end of the government. If they are fake, it's the end of Dr. Rowley and the PNM. I look forward to the sequel.”

I find that i do as well.