The Attorney General’s Office has received the police reports on cases dealing with allegations against two ranking government officials and Attorney General Talauega Eleasalo Ale says he has “activated the process” to move the cases to an independent prosecutor, who is appointed by the court.

“I can confirm to the public that my office has received the police reports on the matters pertaining to the Speaker of the House and the Governor’s Chief of Staff,” Talauega said during the Samoa News interview at his office last week Thursday.

(Samoa News identified during questions posed to Talauega, the names of the House Speaker and the Chief of Staff, to ensure that there was no misunderstanding of whom the individuals were, and that they were the subject of the interview.)

Samoa News sought an interview with Talauega after many in the community have asked about the status of both cases, questioning whether or not they would be even reviewed by the DPS or the AG’s Office.

One of the cases is linked to House Speaker Savali Talavou Ale’s name for a vehicle brought into the territory more than a month ago, but held by Customs, which allegedly found drugs in the shipment. The car was alleged to be shipped to the House Speaker.

When asked during a press briefing last week Wednesday about the case, Savali said the vehicle belonged to his son-in-law and that he has already given a statement to the police. (The press briefing was called to discuss the delay in taking down the old Fono building. See Samoa News last Friday for more information.)

The other case alleges wrongdoing by the Governor’s Chief of Staff, Fiu J. Saelua, following a complaint filed last December with the Department of Public Safety. Fiu is alleged to have misused his authority as a government official to try to deport a woman and her husband back to Samoa without due process.

About three months ago, victim’s advocate Ipu Avegalio Lefiti wrote to a House committee about the complaint, citing at least two other allegations against Fiu, and questioned the delay in the police investigation and requested a probe into Police Commissioner Le’i Sonny Thompson’s handling of the case. Le’i told Samoa News at the time that the case was still being reviewed, but was ready to be turned over to AG’s Office that would make the final decision about the case — whether or not there was enough evidence to take it to court.

When asked during an interview in the later part of May this year about the status of the police investigation into cases involving Fiu and Savali,  Le’i who told Samoa News that police have completed its investigation and the reports have been submitted to the Attorney General’s Office.

(Samoa News notes that Le’i was appointed Police Commissioner in early January this year and was later confirmed by the Fono. Samoa News published in its Apr. 11th edition, a letter to the editor titled “Chief of Staff Stonewall?” from Lefiti regarding the delay in investigation into this same incident, but the chief of staff was not identified by name.)

During the interview, Talauega explained the Criminal Prosecution Division of the AG’s Office is now conducting review of the two cases to set the next course of action on cases involving ranking officials in government.

He said there is local statute, referring the Independent Prosecutor Act, to review when it comes to high ranking government officials who are alleged to have involved in wrong doing therefore, there is a different legal process to follow.

The AG says that any time there are allegations against ranking ASG officials — such as the House Speaker or the chief of staff — his office is concerned that the public may think that the AG’s Office will take the side of the ranking officials.

He explained that all such cases in which allegations are made against ranking officials, goes through the process involving the selection of an Independent Prosecutor (IP) and this process has been activated.

He says the AG’s Office has “activated the process” to move the cases to the IP, who is appointed by the court. He says some in the community may have questions as to why its taking so long on these two case, “but this is the process” they follow.

Talauega stressed that the Criminal Prosecution Division is conducting a full review of both cases, which will then be presented to the court, and the court may have questions that the AG’s Office must answer. He didn’t have, at the time of the interview, an update from the Criminal Prosecution Division on the status of their review — when they will be done and then presented to the court.

(Original Samoan story published in last Friday’s Lali section of Samoa News edition).

BACKGROUND

As previously reported by Samoa News, the process the AG is speaking about is that the Attorney General submits an application with the Appointing Division of the High Court for an Independent Prosecutor if there is a possible conflict of interest in the AG’s Office prosecuting a particular case.

The law also provides qualifications for an IP.

According to the IP law, the Attorney General shall conduct a preliminary investigation whenever the Attorney General receives information sufficient to constitute grounds to investigate whether “any person” — described in the statue — “may have violated any Territorial criminal law”.

Those person, according to the status, includes:

•    the Governor and Lieutenant Governor;

•    any appointed contract, or career service director, office/agency head, or other public official;

•    any member of the Legislature;

•    any Justice Associate Judge or Judge;

•    any Assistant Attorney General and any individual working in the Office of the Attorney General.

Specific details of the IP law, can be found on the American Samoa Bar Association website at: www.asbar.org