ATTORNEY GENERAL DEFERS TO THE ALL-POWERFUL FRED

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NASSAU 001148

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/10/2014
TAGS: PREL PGOV PARM PINR BF
SUBJECT: ATTORNEY GENERAL DEFERS TO THE ALL-POWERFUL FRED
MITCHELL


Classified By: CHARGE ROBERT M. WITAJEWSKI FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D).

SUMMARY
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1. (C) Charge, Political Officer, and DEA Country Attache
held a private lunch with Bahamian Attorney General and
Minister of Education, Alfred Sears, on June 8, 2004 to
discuss the long list of issues he faces in his two massive
portfolios. Overwhelmed and underpaid, Sears still claimed
that he has faith in the Bahamian judicial process, and that
the extraditions of high-profile drug traffickers such as
Samuel "Ninety" Knowles will in a sense "sort themselves
out." He indicated that he hopes to be able to drop the
Attorney General portfolio soon and return to a lucrative
private practice while retaining his Education ministry job.
On a number of issues, ranging from extradition to Article
98, the Attorney General deferred all comments to Foreign
Minister Fred Mitchell as he insisted he had no role in the
decision-making process on these matters.
End Summary

BY DAY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL, BY NIGHT THE MINISTER OF
EDUCATION
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2. (C) Minister Sears admitted up-front that he has
difficulty managing his two high-profile, labor-intensive
portfolios. Claiming that he typically arrives at the Office
of the Attorney General between 7:00 and 7:30 in the morning,
he said that he spends the entire morning at that ministry,
leaving just after lunch for the Ministry of Education where
he spends afternoons and evenings. Most nights, he asserted,
his driver does not drop him off at home until 10:30 or 11:00
o'clock.


3. (C) Sears acknowledged that he has approached Prime
Minister Christie requesting to be relieved of one of his
portfolios. Citing the importance he places on the children
and their future in the Bahamas, Minister Sears said he would
be happier giving up his responsibility as Attorney General.
In addition to reducing by half his workload, such a move
would also allow him to return to his lucrative private legal
practice as well. Sears readily acknowledged that public
service was an expensive proposition for him while repeatedly
professes how much of an honor it was to be in public
service. He made clear, however, that there was a definite
time limit to his public career and that while he would
remain loyal and work himself hard during this government, he
would remain in politics "no longer than the season".


AG'S OFFICE TO RECEIVE NO BUDGET INCREASE
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4. (C) Despite the repeated sick-outs in the Attorney
General's Office by an over-worked and underpaid staff that
have been front-page news, Sears told Charge that his budget
was staff had not been increased in the new budget presented
to parliament last week for the coming fiscal year. He
estimated that 60% of the entire government budget would go
towards salaries, 20% would go towards covering the deficit,
and what little is remaining would go towards new programs to
be split between all of the ministries.


5. (C) Minister Sears claimed, however, that even without a
budget increase, he had been able to rearrange his finances
so that he could hire five new attorneys for the Attorney
General's office. These new hires were the result of an
earlier employee sick-out and public complaints from them
about the increased work load due to MLAT requests from other
countries.


FRANCE AND SPAIN PICKING ON THE BAHAMAS?
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6. (C) Asked about recent reports that both France and
Spain had raised complaints about Bahamian non-responsiveness
to their FATF/MLAT requests that were formally addressed to
him, Sears contended that these complaints were unfairly
directed at him and his ministry, when in reality they had
their origins in extraneous bilateral issues. France, he
claimed, is irritated over extradition issues, whereas Spain
still harbors lingering resentment and issues following the
sinking off the coast of Spain of the Bahamian-flagged oil
tanker "Prestige" that resulted in massive pollution off the
Spanish coastline.

BAIL REFORM, EXTRADITION, AND ARTICLE 98
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7. (C) Regarding the lengthy and slow extradition process of
suspected drug traffickers for trial in the United States,
Sears recalled his experience working for New York City
judges and public outcries for the expedited carrying out of
capital punishment sentences saying that he preferred to let
the system work its course at its usual pace. He was not
prepared to move to quash appeals by defendants' attorneys on
grounds of "abuse of process," he indicated. Asked about
making a technical change in Bahamian habeas corpus law
recommended by the Privy Council that almost led to the
release of notorious suspected major narcotics trafficker
Samuel "90" Knowles release, Sears said that only now,
several months after the Privy Council's decision and
recommendation were attorneys in his office considering a
technical amendment to the law. On modernization of the
country's bail laws, Sears insisted, as well, that his staff
had prepared technical corrections to a law passed by
parliament that needed only his signature to implement.


8. (C) On the issue of modernizing the country's procedures
for the administrative forfeiture of the seized assets of
arrested drug traffickers, Sears said that The Bahamas would
defer making changes to its laws until a Commonwealth
committee (of which The Bahamas was a member) issued its
recommendations and a "model statute." Sears speculated that
this could happen within a couple of years.


9. (C) Queried about his position regarding extradition
issues and the public debate likely to break out following
the unsealing of indictments and the arrest of several dozen
suspected Bahamian drug traffickers later this month, Sears
demurred. He rejected approving their expeditious
extradition to the U.S. because either it would be
cost-effective for The Bahamas not to conduct the trials,
would be more expeditious to conduct the trials in the U.S.,
or that this would spare The Bahamas the expense of multiple,
lengthy trials. Sears responded by making a somewhat obtuse
and esoteric conflict of law argument as a reason why he had
opposed a deal with U.S. prosecutions apportioning a majority
of the prosecutions to the U.S.


10. (C) Attorney General Sears professed to find no legal
objection to the signing of an Article 98 agreement with the
United States, but strongly emphasized that this issue falls
under the purview of Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell. He
seemed to understand however that if the Bahamas is planning
to sign Article 98 at any point, it should do it as soon as
possible in order to benefit from U.S. military-sponsored
programs.


COMMENT
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11. (C) Attorney General Sears seems dedicated to public
service, but admitted quite freely that he prefers - and is
better suited - for the private sector. Using the slow and
monotonous tone of the law professor that he was, Sears spoke
at length -- and with great deference to the complex facets
of every side of every issue that he was asked about --
successfully avoiding a definitive response to most of them.
Once a professor at Hunter College in New York City and a
current member of the NY Bar Association, Sears contends that
the U.S. judicial system is preferable to that of the Bahamas
while nonetheless maintaining a strong faith in Bahamian law
and tradition. Taking a "it might be slow, but it will work"
attitude regarding extradition, Sears didn't seem to think
that the internal politics and "90's" carefully cultivated
public image as a Robin Hood figure would have an impact on
the eventual outcome of the process.
WITAJEWSKI