Fitial says he will not appoint Baka as AG

Gov. Benigno Fitial said he will not appoint acting Attorney General Gregory Baka to the position of AG, while Baka says some in the public do not understand the role of the position.

Fitial, in a news briefing yesterday, said he does not understand why having Baka hold the position of acting AG is an issue.

“I don’t know why this is an issue. …He became acting attorney general by virtue of succession,” the governor said.

“When I leave, the lieutenant governor takes over. No one has to appoint the lieutenant governor as acting. That’s by succession, and that’s by the Constitution. Whenever the governor is away, the lieutenant governor takes over.” Fitial added. “Same as Mr. Baka. He’s the deputy attorney general. When the attorney general is not here, the deputy takes over.”

Baka succeeded to the position of acting attorney general on Sept. 28 in the absence of an appointed AG, after Matthew Gregory stepped down from the post. Under the Commonwealth Code, the governor or designee is required to submit the nomination to the Senate, or when applicable, the House, within 30 days of the person being temporarily appointed. If the Senate, and when applicable, the House, does not confirm the appointment of the person holding the temporary appointed position, the position will terminate.

Fitial has not submitted Baka’s name to the Senate because, as deputy AG, Baka succeeded to the position of acting AG, Baka earlier said. He noted that his salary remains that of deputy attorney general, his contractual position.

In March, the Senate passed a bill clarifying the law that requires Senate confirmation.

Under the bill, if the governor or his designee does not submit the individual who has been appointed or is otherwise serving in an acting capacity or who has assumed the title of AG, acting AG, or interim AG within 30 days, the individual cannot serve in those positions for two years. If an individual is nominated, but the Senate does not confirm the person within 90 days from the temporary appointed or assumed position date, the position will become vacant and the person nominated can’t be re-nominated during the tenure of the appointing administration. If an individual holds the position of AG, acting AG or interim AG after 90 days without confirmation, they will be breaking the law. Any contracts, purchase orders or timesheets signed after the 90-day period will be null and void.

The Senate has been vocal in their opposition to Baka, and Senate President Pete Reyes, who authored the bill, earlier said he would use his influence to make sure Baka was not confirmed. In light of the Senate bill, last month Baka notified the assistant attorneys general and special assistant attorneys general they could be terminated without cause if they do not agree to amended contracts. The amended contracts require the lawyers to serve up to a maximum of 30 days per contract period as acting attorney general, if so appointed.

The governor said he has asked Teresa Kim to be the AG but she declined. The governor nixed the candidates Baka had recommended, but said he has some locals in mind, although he would not say who.

Baka, for his part, said there are many qualified candidates in the CNMI, but few people are willing to earn a salary $20,000 less than the public auditor.

“If you want to have a good AG you should raise the salary of the AG to be the same as that of an associate judge of the Superior Court. I think we’d have several highly qualified individuals that I would be delighted to work for.”

When asked if he would like to be attorney general, Baka said he’d like to work for someone with the caliber of Jesse Borja, a lawyer and former lieutenant governor.

The public and in particular, the Legislature, needs to understand the role of the AG, Baka said.

“As long as people look at the AG as a sort of a lightning rod, as someone to do a proxy political attack against the governor, for instance, then you have a situation where people who don’t understand the role of the AG are making the AG into a position it is not,” Baka said during the briefing. “The attorney general is the peoples’ lawyer, and as long as the public and the reporters understand that, and as long as there are resources available to pay the attorneys’ salaries so all of our best lawyers aren’t all moving to Guam, then I think we can really get something done.”

Asked if salary is the main issue, he said public perception of the role was also a factor.

Asked again if he believes the Legislature doesn’t understand the role of the attorney general, Baka said: “No, the Legislature does. I think some of the reporters don’t.”

He said the Legislature should know the salary is an issue. He noted an increase was proposed around the time they were discussing a bill that would elect the AG, something Fitial said is not a good idea. The governor said there are more elected attorney generals in the U.S. than appointed, including Guam, but it would not be a good fit for the CNMI.

“But I think for a community as small as this, which is very highly political, I don’t think it has a place here. In other words, I will be against an elected attorney general,” the governor said.