Alden reveals ‘false document’ enquiry
Alden McLaughlin, Cayman Islands Premier, in the Legislative Assembly
(CNS): The police are allegedly investigating allegations of forged and false documents that have emerged as a result of the legal battle between opposition leader McKeeva Bush and the premier. As Bush debated his private member’s motion Wednesday morning requesting a revision to the make-up of the Anti-Corruption Committee, he attempted to read out some documents he claims support his allegations that the premier was involved in a conspiracy to topple him from office.
But Premier McLaughlin interrupted the opposition leader before he got very far and said the documents he wanted to read were subject to a police investigation as they were forgeries.
He said his attorneys had been pressing Bush’s legal team to demonstrate the provenance of at least four documents, which he said his team knew to be false and with forged signatures, but the opposition leader’s lawyers had failed to say where the documents came from. As a result, a police investigation was underway.
In a heated exchange this morning, in which the opposition leader lashed out at those he believes were involved in a conspiracy to oust him from local politics, Bush used the debate on the ACC as a vehicle to table a number of documents.
As McLaughlin challenged him to explain the documents and demonstrate their accuracy or where they came from if he wanted to read them, the speaker intervened and ruled that none of the correspondence relating to the case between the opposition leader and the premier could be discussed. As the two party leaders exchanged barbs, it was not clear if any documents made it to the table to become public documents.
Bush said his lawyers were dealing with the allegations that some of the documents were falsified but he insisted several times, “We get the information and we use it.”
Bush attempted to disclose the correspondence, which he claims demonstrates a wide conspiracy against him, including evidence that was produced during his trial last year when he was accused of misusing his government credit card in casinos. He was acquitted of all the charges but not before the extent of his gambling on slot machines during overseas trips for business as well as pleasure was revealed in detail.
The correspondence that Bush was trying to make public via the Legislative Assembly was revealed after he had argued for the removal of the police commissioner, the auditor general and the complaints commissioner from the ACC, to be replaced by independent individuals. Bush said the creation of the committee to investigate corruption and conflicts of interest was itself conflicted and was the opposite of what was intended, as he pointed to the auditor general and the police, who were able to refer their own reports and investigations to the commission.
Although government is currently reviewing the commission and the anti-corruption law, including the make-up of the commission, the premier rejected Bush’s motion, as he said it was too narrow a prescriptive. McLaughlin questioned the motivation behind Bush’s reasons for the private member’s motion, as he implied that it was wrong of him to use his position to bring such a personal motion.
With no other members in the House contributing to the debate on the opposition leader’s motion, it was during his response to government that Bush chose to defend his motion by trying to illustrate what he claimed the auditor and the police commissioner were up to with the use of the now questionable correspondence.
CNS has now contacted the RCIPS regarding the premier’s revelations over the alleged police probe and we are awaiting a response.
One really has to wonder where in the universe mckeewa was when God was handing out shame.
Big problem here are we going to trust the same very people involved with Tempura??? Really Cayman !!!!
Whether you like Mr. Mckeeva Bush or not, Cayman is seeing and experiencing very difficult & troubling times with an unprecedented national debt for such a tiny little Island. The stifling financial restrictions now imposed by those who have actively been trying to close this place down for years, This has now become a reality and is becoming so unbearable that it is are starting to cripple our little society. Those who’s duty it is to protect us locally and overseas are offering us up like a sacrificial lamb to those who for no other reason than protecting and keeping their very own economies viable and flourishing. Who’s hypocritical financial regulations & polices are a farce, would be involved in make this possible by any means necessary and would discredit or destroy anyone whom they deem a threat or an obstacle to this process. Why all this effort to get one XXXXX politician when there is evidence they are clearly others just as bad or worse. The problem we are going to have with authenticity of these documents is how can we trust the same very people trying to close us down, who cant even tell us the truth about their involvement with a over 20 million dollar corruption investigation cover up called TEMPURA! my advice to our two failed politicos stop playing games with the Caymanian people lives & future and try and get on with this business in hand to keep us alive.
9.47, I think you miss the point- Mac has been publicly vilified for using his credit card on gambling of all things-the fact that policy wasnt right doesnt mean he is innocent of something that in any normal place would have seen him at least resign or get jailed. Whilst I cannot pretend to like Alden either, there is not even a whiff of impropriety currently-Hence Mac’s got nothing to go on and whatever he produces in terms of so called documents, his credibility is blown to pieces before he even opens his stupid mouth. I do agree both should go. New blood needed.
Having a government conducive to Her Majesty’s government is essential to the UK & FCO’s economic interest so what if we ruffle a few feathers or disenfranchise a few natives by intervening in their electoral process. We have done this covertly for over 500 years. The ends justify the means, Caymanians need to get over it. When confront with the truth simply deny and distract them, it works every time. You can fool some of the people all of the time and those are the ones you want to concentrate on
What Bush is claiming about a conspiracy is quite believable in my opinion.
I watched the fight between Alden and Bush during the time Alden was the opposition and it was clearly obvious that he had a personal agenda against Bush, it showed in the way he handled himself as the opposition in my opinion. During that time he tried his best to shut down and discredit any and everything Bush did, I watched him on the news and read his statements regularly making accusations against Bush, calling for him to step down or be removed. He produced plenty of documents claiming to be signs of corruption or criminal activity by bush such as the infamous bill sent to Stan Thomas about a real estate deal or even the claim that he helped import Dynamite illegally. And now he’s complaining about the same thing happening to him. He can dish it but can’t take it. I didn’t see Bush filing lawsuits to try and shut Alden up he let him say what he had to say and faced the accusations like a man.
Every claim they produced against Bush eventually just withered away until they finally found something that they could actually arrest him for and charge him with. The result was a very publicized arrest and search of his home where it was obvious that the media had been informed when and where it was going to happen so they could film it. The timing was also impeccably selected just prior to the election.
The trial itself in my opinion was a sham also because everyone knew from the start the he used the Credit Card to withdraw money at the casinos some of which he used to gamble. We also know that the entire amount was paid back and this was within the CIG policy at the time for CIG Issus Card use, something of which we also know plenty of other politicians used their cards for personal purchases and paid the money back as required by policy yet not one of them was the focus of this investigation or even mentioned in it, only Bush. So whether or not it was bad judgement on his part or just a stupid move given his position and all the people that were out to get him. THERE WAS NO CRIME COMMITED.
So in my opinion, yes I do think it’s quite possible that there was a conspiracy to bring him I actually felt that way while it was happening because of the way things played out, and yes I also believe that it is possible Alden was involved in some way directly or indirectly. It could have been as simple as him knowing what was going on and sitting idly by while they brought Bush down so he could easily step in his shoes, which is what happened. If he knew about it and kept quiet about it then it would be no different the being involved in it.
The truth will eventually come out.
My Closing Opinion: Cayman cannot not sustain this ongoing personal war that they are caught in between. They need to both retire so Cayman can get past this.
Maybe let them fight it out in the ring for charity.
The truth hurts
We are paying them to bicker back and forth, time these old dragons took a back seat and let some fresh new blood in to run the country.
I have to laugh, the premier gives the documents to the commissioner who is also being sued, who then recused himself and giving the investigation to the deputy commissioner, who use to be the commissioner’s old boss in the UK, and there is no confilt with that.
Its not the documents that are Fake or a fraud its the people named on it ! Here is some advice to you Alden please stick political waffling because MacKeeva is a far better Gambler than you! Stop trying to bluff MacKeeva.
It’s too bad more money now has to be spent on a qualified forensic document examiner, as I doubt the RCIPS has one on staff. They can be very costly but do get results. Even with digital documents, for example, evidence can be culled from the metadata of electronic signature files, providing information such as who the author is and when the document was written.
I look forward to the results.
Digital documents like when one of mac’s pro ritz letters was written on the ritz developers computer? Like that?
Or like the Stan Thomas fax?
Why no prosecutions? Is it all legal? Or is it all corruption and our authorities are unable to act? Whatever it is, IT STINKS!
Let us see the documents Alden. What are you afraid of? If they are forged signatures this should be easily proven.
I think like Mac you misunderstand.
Documents subject to legal proceedings (Alden’s defamation suit against Mac) should not be produced prior to the trial of those proceedings for obvious reasons. I don’t think its as much that Alden is trying to hide anything as adhere to his duties to the court in the defamation proceedings, whereas Mac as usual has no clue and simply goes blunder-busting around with his conspiracy theories, pointing fingers, stamping feet and generally throwing his rattle out of the pram – such behaviour from Mac we are all much accustomed to by now of course!
Says someone who knows crap about the law.
Cayman is lucky to have such fine statesmen guiding it in these perilous times.
Rome only had one disconnected egomaniac fiddling while it burned. Cayman has two. Winning!!
Gettin kinda hectic
Alden I pray to the heavens you will sue his a** off when this is finished.
Aw here we go Bobo
They need to deal with their personal differences in the court system and leave the LA for the peoples business.
This is the peoples’ business…