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A Tangled Web - Leys Paints Golding's Claims About US Stalemate As 'Fairy Tale'
Published: Thursday | February 10, 20110 Comments
Daraine Luton, Senior Staff Reporter
In his second day of testimony, Solicitor General Douglas Leys yesterday made it clear he believed Prime Minister Bruce Golding's apology to the nation last year for his Government's handling of the extradition request for Christopher 'Dudus' Coke was constructed with falsehoods.
Leys told the Manatt-Dudus commission of enquiry, at the Jamaica Conference Centre in downtown Kingston, that Golding's assertion that the United States was intransigent in its stance on the extradition request was untrue.
"The engagement of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips by Mr Harold Brady was an effort to secure assistance in resolving the stalemate because the party was concerned about the negative effect it was having on relations between Jamaica and the United States," Golding told the nation during a national broadcast on May 17 last year, as he asked for forgiveness.
Apparent distortions
But yesterday under cross-examination from K.D. Knight, counsel for the People's National Party (PNP), the solicitor general exposed a tangled web of apparent distortions, painting the prime minister's account as a fairy tale.
"Having regard to the factors that I had to encounter, no sir," Leys said when asked by Knight if he would have told the nation there was a stalemate.
Asked if there was stonewalling on the part of the US government at that time, Leys responded: "I would not agree with this. Between those two dates (August 25, 2009 and September 18, 2009) and the two countries (Jamaica and the US), there was no stalemate, not at that point in time."
The solicitor general told the commission that the Government of Jamaica first informed the US of its concerns with the extradition request that was sent for Coke on September 18, 2009.
That correspondence was sent to the US 24 days after the receipt of the diplomatic note which contained the request for Coke's extradition.
On the same day the Golding-led Government was sending the note to the US, Daryl Vaz, a member of the Cabinet, was, on the instructions of Golding, sending nearly US$50,000 to Manatt, Phelps & Phillips in Washington for them to help resolve the "stalemate".
Vaz has told the commission that he, in his capacity as deputy treasurer of the JLP, was instructed by Golding to send the money to Manatt during a meeting on September 6, 2009.
Two days later, airline tickets were purchased by Vaz for Brady and then Junior Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Ronald Robinson to travel to Washington to meet with Manatt officials about the request.
Golding has maintained that Manatt was hired by the JLP, which he leads, even though the contract with Manatt indicates that Brady signed as a consultant to the Government of Jamaica.
During a press conference days before his apologetic address to the nation, Golding said Brady was brought into the picture to approach Manatt because the Government of Jamaica was being stonewalled.
"He was asked to speak to a particular individual who is a close friend of the party, the former chairman of the Republican Party, to see whether or not he could help to get some greater receptivity on the part of the US," Golding said in the interview.
However, yesterday Leys testified that he was not aware of the Government of Jamaica having any difficulty putting its views to the US.
Golding is the second government minister whose assertions Leys has contradicted in consecutive days.
On Monday, the solicitor general told the commission that Attorney General Dorothy Lightbourne was not speaking the truth when she said she only became aware that a representative of Manatt attended a meeting at the US State Department in March 2010.
Leys said it was Lightbourne who gave him permission to invite the Manatt representatives to the meeting which took place on December 17, 2009.
In the meantime, Knight, speaking at a post-commission press briefing, said Leys' testimony cast "great doubt ... on the veracity of the prime minister and, of course, his sincerity."
daraine.luton@gleanerjm.com
Published: Thursday | February 10, 20110 Comments
Daraine Luton, Senior Staff Reporter
In his second day of testimony, Solicitor General Douglas Leys yesterday made it clear he believed Prime Minister Bruce Golding's apology to the nation last year for his Government's handling of the extradition request for Christopher 'Dudus' Coke was constructed with falsehoods.
Leys told the Manatt-Dudus commission of enquiry, at the Jamaica Conference Centre in downtown Kingston, that Golding's assertion that the United States was intransigent in its stance on the extradition request was untrue.
"The engagement of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips by Mr Harold Brady was an effort to secure assistance in resolving the stalemate because the party was concerned about the negative effect it was having on relations between Jamaica and the United States," Golding told the nation during a national broadcast on May 17 last year, as he asked for forgiveness.
Apparent distortions
But yesterday under cross-examination from K.D. Knight, counsel for the People's National Party (PNP), the solicitor general exposed a tangled web of apparent distortions, painting the prime minister's account as a fairy tale.
"Having regard to the factors that I had to encounter, no sir," Leys said when asked by Knight if he would have told the nation there was a stalemate.
Asked if there was stonewalling on the part of the US government at that time, Leys responded: "I would not agree with this. Between those two dates (August 25, 2009 and September 18, 2009) and the two countries (Jamaica and the US), there was no stalemate, not at that point in time."
The solicitor general told the commission that the Government of Jamaica first informed the US of its concerns with the extradition request that was sent for Coke on September 18, 2009.
That correspondence was sent to the US 24 days after the receipt of the diplomatic note which contained the request for Coke's extradition.
On the same day the Golding-led Government was sending the note to the US, Daryl Vaz, a member of the Cabinet, was, on the instructions of Golding, sending nearly US$50,000 to Manatt, Phelps & Phillips in Washington for them to help resolve the "stalemate".
Vaz has told the commission that he, in his capacity as deputy treasurer of the JLP, was instructed by Golding to send the money to Manatt during a meeting on September 6, 2009.
Two days later, airline tickets were purchased by Vaz for Brady and then Junior Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Ronald Robinson to travel to Washington to meet with Manatt officials about the request.
Golding has maintained that Manatt was hired by the JLP, which he leads, even though the contract with Manatt indicates that Brady signed as a consultant to the Government of Jamaica.
During a press conference days before his apologetic address to the nation, Golding said Brady was brought into the picture to approach Manatt because the Government of Jamaica was being stonewalled.
"He was asked to speak to a particular individual who is a close friend of the party, the former chairman of the Republican Party, to see whether or not he could help to get some greater receptivity on the part of the US," Golding said in the interview.
However, yesterday Leys testified that he was not aware of the Government of Jamaica having any difficulty putting its views to the US.
Golding is the second government minister whose assertions Leys has contradicted in consecutive days.
On Monday, the solicitor general told the commission that Attorney General Dorothy Lightbourne was not speaking the truth when she said she only became aware that a representative of Manatt attended a meeting at the US State Department in March 2010.
Leys said it was Lightbourne who gave him permission to invite the Manatt representatives to the meeting which took place on December 17, 2009.
In the meantime, Knight, speaking at a post-commission press briefing, said Leys' testimony cast "great doubt ... on the veracity of the prime minister and, of course, his sincerity."
daraine.luton@gleanerjm.com
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