House committee to conduct oversight

The CNMI House of Representatives will dig deeper into the report made by U.S. House Resources Committee chair Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) to determine the extent of involvement by OIA’s field office on Saipan as well as some members of the community on the aggressive federal campaign to smear the Northern Marianas.

Rep. Dino M. Jones, chair of the House Judiciary and Government Operations, said he is preparing for an oversight hearing to be conducted on Saipan with plans to summon OIA officials here and from the mainland.

“As soon as I find that it can be done, I will communicate with the office of Congressman Young once the report is completed,” he said.

So far, only OIA’s liaison officer in the CNMI, Jeffrey Schorr who is actually based on the island, has been implicated in the alleged on-the-job political campaign and misuse of government time and resources.

But Commonwealth officials believe someone in the government is feeding confidential information to Mr. Schorr or to any OIA official.

Based on Mr. Young’s report, the OIA representative here has obtained memoranda from Preston Gates, CNMI’s lobbyists in the U.S. capital, to the government, citing that Mr. Schorr even indicated that he got those secret information from a “source on the island.”

Senate Floor Leader Pete P. Reyes noted that local officials have had suspicion that Mr. Schorr is involved in the political activities of his superiors, but they were not certain up to what extent.

He disclosed that they have also suspected that some officials in the Tenorio administration and the Legislature are providing information to him as documents found in his possession are all classified and strictly between Preston Gates and the CNMI.

“We even have a suspect whom we can’t confirm but we have discussed it among members of the Legislature and key personnel of the administration have been discussing this individual also,” Mr. Reyes told in an interview.

“We have a pretty good idea who that person might be,” he said, without elaborating.
The senator, who has been vocal against OIA’s unfair treatment of the CNMI, expressed concern that this “employee” of the Commonwealth has opted to become a spy for federal officials.

“It’s unfortunate that instead of this employee trying to help us, this individual has engaged in smear tactics. And for Mr. Schorr to engage in providing confidential information is not a surprise to me,” said Mr. Reyes.

Mr. Schorr has said he would not be able to comment on Mr. Young’s report.