AG Ramlogan says it's "troubling" that Gordon didn't admit making an error

File: Anand Rmlogan

Attorney General Anand Ramlogan is concerned that Ken Gordon has refused to admit that he made an error.

He was speaking with the Express newspaper about a statement that the chairman of the Integrity Commission released Friday stating that he would not resign from the commission and that he did nothing wrong.

“The most worrying thing about all this is that Mr Gordon does not seem to admit or recognise any error of judgment or any error at all in what he has done,” Ramlogan told the paper. "Throughout the press statement, he has not conceded to that or expressed any regret or anything,” Ramlogan added.

The AG said it is "troubling" that Gordon did not see his error and suggested that the chairman would continue to operate under this “serious misapprehension” about his powers.

“There is a very clear line of demarcation between the Integrity Commission as established by the Constitution and a member of the Commission who happens to be the chairman,” Ramlogan said.

“The Integrity in Public Life Act does not give any power to a single member of the Commission. It does not in fact give any specific power to the chairman of the Commission except when the Commission is duly constituted and is acting as a lawful body. Then, at that point when the Commission is constituted by the President, the powers given to the Commission under the Act would then vest with the Commission.”Ramlogan told the Express there was no Integrity Commission when Gordon met with Keith Rowley and the meeting must be seen in that context.

“And if as a chairman or member you know you have no powers until the Commission is duly appointed, then what, pray tell, would be the point in meeting?

“Meeting him in your capacity as chairman must mean you have the power in law to do something whatever the ‘urgent’ complaint is. The fact that the law gave you no such power would have preemptively told you that there was no point in having that meeting,” the Attorney General said.Ramlogan said, “This issue will not blow away like a passing rain cloud. There are still too many unanswered questions.”