AG says Rowley's "facts" wrong, insists probes will continue and "nobody is above the law"

Attorney General Anand Ramlogan said Wednesday the State has not sent any legal brief for any attorney in his former chambers to handle. 

He was responding to a charge by Opposition Leader Keith Rowley who is alleging that Ramlogan is hiring “friends and associates” to do legal matters. Riowley claimed :"half of them" come from Ramlogan's former chambers. 

Rowley made the allegation at a meeting in Port of Spain Tuesday night. He said the AG has received almost $200 million since 2010 to pay legal fees for probes “to chase down people” and so far no one has been charged.

Ramlogan was adaamant tha Rowley was misleading the nation. “The State has not sent a single brief to any attorney from my former law chambers," Ramlogan told local media.

“Rowley’s allegation is false and defamatory and I will consider my legal options in the context of Dr Rowley’s growing reputation for making reckless, wild, baseless and slanderous comments. 

“It’s not the first time he has made such ridiculous insinuations...He also accused me of going to T&T’s New York mission when I never visited NY since my appointment as Attorney General. 

“Desperation is now setting in on the PNM side as the probes are beginning to grind and to bear fruit. 

“The civil fraud cases are biting hard into the PNM’s top order and rather than observe the salutary principle that once matters are before the court, no public comment is permitted, I see that Dr Rowley is again bent on trying to play smart with foolishness,” Ramlogan said.

“If there is no evidence or merit in the claims filed, the court will dismiss the matters, but for now, these matter are properly before the court and public comment is inappropriate. 

“But PNM’s strategy is clearly to create a diversion by making wild allegations in the hope that people will somehow dub this a PNM witch-hunt. 

“I have been very judicious in the selection of cases and counsel and there are many I didn’t proceed with at this point in time, including the investigations against Dr Rowley by his own former government and alleged millions in an offshore bank account.” 

Ramlogan said he would not stand for self-serving criticism that infers that anyone can be investigated except the PNM. He declared, “Nobody is above the law.”