In his apology delivered to the nation from the Presidential Palace after a three-hour meeting of the National Council of the Magistracy on 12 March 2019, CNM member Attorney General Jean Alain Rodriguez remarked it was never his intention to offend the woman or mother in Supreme Court of Justice judge Miriam German Brito. He said he would remove himself from deliberations as to whether the judge should continue or not in the Supreme Court of Justice in response to what he called the “unnecessary controversy” his Monday accusations had generated.
But then, the Attorney General rambled on for another five minutes to defend his much-criticized evidence that he had presented during his assessment of the judge on Monday, 4 March 2019. Miriam Germán Brito has had a 40-year career in the judiciary and is highly reputed. The media would come to her defense and show the evidence presented by the Attorney General was but fake news.
Nevertheless, Rodríguez would defend his presenting of “evidence” on why the judge should not continue in her position. He insisted he was doing his job with maximum rigor and transparency and within the limits established by law. He reiterated that he was motivated by the mandate to ensure the integrity, impartiality, independence and objectiveness of the judges of the Supreme of Justice and he understood the public hearing was the correct scenario for the presenting of the evidence.
He then repeated that the judge was a personal friend of one of the incriminated in the Odebrecht bribes case and said he did so to contribute to the National Council of the Magistracy taking the decisions that strengthen the judiciary in the Dominican Republic.
Judge Miriam Germán Brito has warned the US$92 million Odebrecht bribes case could fall through because of errors in the preparing of the case under Attorney General. Rodríguez chose not to send Dominican prosecutors to Brazil to interview the Brazilian company officers that have admitted to paying the bribes to Dominican government officers. This means the evidence cannot be used in a Dominican court and would overturn the case against the seven accused of taking bribes in the Dominican Republic.
In her 13 March 2019 commentary on the presentation, journalist Altagracia Salazar in her “Sin Maquillaje” channel on YouTube, said that the body language of PLD secretary general Reinaldo Pared Perez at the presentation said it all. In a later tweet, Pared Perez explains that it had been agreed by the CNM that Rodríguez would just announce he would remove himself from the deliberations regarding judge Miriam German Brito.
While Pared Perez was showing surprise and displeasure on his face, the PRM opposition members of the National Council of Magistracy, senator Jose Ignacio Paliza and deputy Josefa Castillo, would walk off the podium to protest that Rodríguez defended his accusations against the aspiring judge.
Salazar commented that if the intention of the “apology” was to chill the waters for the ruling PLD party, his statement had done the contrary. Rosario Espinal, in a commentary in Hoy newspaper, said that the Tuesday, 12 March statements by Jean Alain Rodríguez are damaging to the aspirations of President Danilo Medina to seek reelection. Medina had said that he would announce his intention to run this March. Social media and prominent critics have insisted that Rodríguez is but a pawn of the President in his intent to dominate in the Judicial Branch. Recently, Rodríguez fast-tracked an overhaul of the prosecutors in the country.
Listin Diario reported that judge Miriam Germán Brito said she would issue a reply to the evening statements by Rodríguez on Wednesday, 13 March.
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Altagracia Salazar
Marino Zapete
YouTube
YouTube
Acento
Diario Libre
El Dia
13 March 2019