no some people say issue and some say Hissue.. dont me dem dounce. Wha Bruce do you... how comes mi nuh see sista P at the thing.. would it be funny if she too fell Peter sell out the people..
Jamaica’s prime minster admitted for the first time this week that he authorized hiring Manatt, Phelps & Phillips to lobby U.S. officials in connection with an extradition dispute involving an alleged international drug kingpin that has strained relations between the two countries and resulted in an ethics complaint against the firm.
As reported by local news sources and The Associated Press, Prime Minister Bruce Golding told his country’s parliament on Tuesday that he had approved retaining Manatt to help resolve the extradition standoff over Kingston businessman Christopher Coke, indicted by federal prosecutors in New York last August for trafficking in illegal narcotics and firearms.
Golding contended, however, that it was his ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), not the Jamaican government, that hired and paid Manatt–despite the firm’s continuing insistence to the contrary.
“I sanctioned the initiative, knowing that such interventions have in the past proven to be of considerable value in dealing with issues involving the governments of both countries,” Golding said Tuesday, reading from a lengthy prepared statement. “I made it clear, however, that this was an initiative to be undertaken by the [JLP], not by or on behalf of the government.”
Golding acknowledged authorizing Kingston attorney and leading JLP member Harold Brady to approach Manatt. Somehow, Golding said, the firm was “made to believe that Mr. Brady was acting for the government of Jamaica, rather than the JLP, and that their engagement was authorized by the government of Jamaica.” The prime minister did not explain how Manatt was “made to believe” that was the case.
Golding also said a payment of nearly $50,000 made to Manatt last September came from JLP coffers. “Rumors and speculation carried in the media that these funds were provided by Christopher Coke are completely false as the Party is fully aware of the source of these funds,” Golding stated. He said the funds came from unnamed “financial contributors to the Party,” and maintained that there was “absolutely nothing illegal or surreptitious” about his actions or those of the JLP.
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