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Governor says the House never invited him to testify
Gov. Ralph DLG Torres sign the proclamation that designates May 2-6, 2022 as Public Service Recognition Week. (Office of the Governor)
Gov. Ralph DLG Torres claims that the House of Representatives never once invited him in his personal capacity to testify against the allegations against him.
In a brief statement from Torres last Tuesday, he said he wants to clarify for the community that if the House of Representatives had invited him in his personal capacity to answer questions—and not as governor—then he would’ve gladly done so. However, that was not the case and now, the situation has gotten to the point of impeachment and even criminal charges.
“They never once invited me to come. I’ve said it numerous times: ‘Invite me to come, and I’ll come, and I’ll testify. You want me to be under oath, I’ll do it.’ But obviously they chose to do it their own way. Now it is what it is. But I just wanted people in the community to know that I’ve always said that I’m willing to come in and testify and have a discussion and answer your questions,” he said.
Torres explained that had the House of Representatives, specifically the House’s Judiciary and Governmental Operations Committee, invited him instead of issuing a subpoena for the governor, he would have gladly came in and answered any, if not all, their questions.
“Just to make it clear: I’ve said it in the past and I’ll say it again—if the House were to invite me to come, I would have gladly come and done that. I’ve said it numerous times. To subpoena the governor, you’re not putting…the position of governor [in a spot] where at any time the Legislature can just come arbitrarily and just subpoena the governor and the Senate as well. I stand by that. This was something that I could’ve easily gone in, take the oath, and answer their questions. But they chose not to, they chose the other way, which was to subpoena the governor,” Torres said.
However, Torres remains optimistic and says he will continue to represent those who believe in his leadership and those who voted him into his position.
As for the impeachment trial on May 13, Torres said he will gladly be there if his legal counsel advises him to.
“I’ll leave it to my legal counsel. If my legal counsel suggests that I should be present then I will be,” he said.
