Grenada Today - The National Newspaper of Grenada, Carriacou & Petite Martinique

National Security Minister, Senator Einstein Louison has accused the Grenada Bar Association of (GBA) of producing a fraudulent e-mail as evidence to the Judicial and Legal Services Commission (JLSC) which resulted in the body rejecting the nomination of controversial Jamaican attorney Hugh Wildman to the post of Attorney General (AG) of Grenada.

Sen. Louison charged that the Keith Mitchell-led government had sought to get the best legal mind available in the person of Wildman to advise it legally on matters of State only to have the nomination turned down on the basis of a questionable an e-mail.

The lawyers had staged a series of protest action including a shut down of the local courts in February to protest the proposed appointment by government of Wildman as AG.

GBA also prepared a dossier which it presented to JLCS members and other organisations in the country on Wildman's alleged misconduct in public office over the years. One of the documents in the dossier was an e-mail purported to have come from British Lawyer Lawrence Jones who was associated with the collapsed First International Bank of Grenada (FIBG).

In the e-mail, Jones charged a public officer close to the ruling New National Party (NNP) administration of being "very expensive" and "useful" since he has the ears of Prime Minister Dr. Keith Mitchell. Jones alleged that the individual named was part of a team that he was assembling to keep the U.S Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) out of Grenada and their efforts to get after the records of First Bank.

Sen. Louison told a news conference held upstairs the Melville Street Fish Market last Tuesday that Wildman's nomination for the post of AG was rejected based on that e-mail from GBA to JLSC. He pointed out that the document had accused the controversial Wildman of misconduct in that he used his public offices to profit financially while conducting the business of the State.

"The JLSC told government that they had an e-mail from Mr. Lawrence Jones which stated that Mr. Wildman had asked for money", said Sen. Louison. The Security Minister disclosed that the purported author of the e-mail has since corrected those allegations through verbal and oral communications with new Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Elvin Nimrod.

"In that letter (sent to Nimrod), Mr. Jones is denying that he had paid any money or provided any benefit directly or indirectly to Mr. Wildman in connection with any business of FIBG or the Government of Grenada", he said.

Sen. Louison insisted that the letter from Jones had vindicated Wildman on any wrong-doing because Jones had categorically denied any knowledge of Wildman's involvement in illegal activities. He said that based on certain information in the possession of government, it is clear the Jones did have a relationship with another public officer who was expensive and that officer is not Wildman.

"We have an indication who the person is but I would not like to say who at the time being", Louison told reporters. According to the senior government minister, "everything shall come to the light" since the regime was planing to set up an inquiry to look into the Jones e-mail issue.

"We ask those who continue to talk about e-mail to come forward with it because it is extremely important that this matter is put to rest one way or the other", he said.

"If the government is wrong the issue must be cleared up. If the Bar Association and other organisations who have called for the withdrawal of Mr. Wildman on that basis are wrong that must be cleared up also", he added.