(Trinidad Guardian) The Law Association of Trinidad and Tobago (LATT) plans to investigate the disqualification of Attorney General Reginald Armour from the Piarco International Airport civil matter in a Miami court.
Its council, led by senior counsel Sophia Chote, SC, met yesterday at its Port-of-Spain headquarters for its monthly statutory meeting, where the matter came up.
Immediately following the meeting, the association issued a press release stating it had noted the various requests for its response on the issue.
These calls come as the furore surrounding the AG continues, with numerous calls for him to resign his position after he was disqualified from representing this country in the civil matter directly linked to the Piarco Airport fraud case against former finance minister Brian Kuei Tung and others in Miami.
In April, just weeks after Armour was appointed as AG, Kuei Tung filed a request to have Armour and US law firm Sequor Law disqualified from the civil matter against him.
Kuei Tung claimed that Armour could have shared sensitive information he (Armour) gleaned from representing him (Kuei Tung) and his then-girlfriend in the Piarco Airport preliminary enquiry in T&T between 2003 and 2008.
Armour’s affidavit filed in response claimed he was a junior attorney at the time and his role was limited to note-taking.
However, media reports and court transcripts seem to conflict with his statement and the calls for his resignation have been pouring in since.
Yesterday, the LATT said it considers this matter an important one warranting comment under the Legal Profession Act, Chapter 90:03.
But the association said to do so, it needed to verify the facts.
“We are requesting certified copies of the Court proceedings, including the affidavit and transcripts, which we will then review,” the statement said.
Once this is done, the association said it will seek a response from Armour before making a public pronouncement.
“The council also intends to review any appeal filed against the Order of the Miami-Dade Court to determine whether any matters on appeal are relevant to the issues on which it proposes to offer a statement,” the LATT said.
In his last public statement on June 8, Armour vowed to maintain his silence until the appeal is completed in Miami.
The association’s statement comes hours after Guardian Media received confirmation that a group of attorneys intended to file a requisition requesting a special general meeting of the LATT to deal with the issue.
The requisition, which is expected to be hand-delivered to the association in the coming days, was making the rounds yesterday, as several attorneys confirmed they were contacted and asked whether they would support it.
It asks the association to debate and vote on a motion of no-confidence against Armour. Once the requisition receives the signatures of 25 attorneys and is handed over to the LATT, the council will have 30 days to call a special general meeting.
It will not be the first such motion Armour has faced since news of his disqualification was made public, as the Opposition UNC has filed motions of no-confidence in the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Yesterday, the Office of the AG announced Armour had left the country on official business. Stuart Young will act as AG until Armour returns tomorrow.
Guardian Media sent questions to Young seeking his response to claims Armour was summoned to the US by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, who remained in the US after the Summit of the Americas ended this week for medical treatment.
Young rubbished this, however, saying Armour was on previously scheduled “official and important Government business.”
“The speculation surrounding his carrying out official business outside of the country is unwarranted. The mischief being fuelled by those who are attempting to secure their own well-being is interesting and should be carefully noted by the civic-minded public,” Young said.
