PLP blasts Tribune story

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune News Editor 

rrolle@tribunemedia.net 

THE Progressive Liberal Party has blasted as “misleading” and “defamatory” The Tribune’s front-page headline reporting Carlos Lehder’s unsubstantiated claim that he funnelled $150,000 a month to former Prime Minister Sir Lynden Pindling through businessman Everette Bannister.

In a statement, the PLP said the headline was “incorrect and misleading,” insisting Lehder never claimed in the interview that he handed money directly to Sir Lynden.

“The headline of 1 September 2025 on the front page of The Tribune, ‘I PAID PINDLING 150K PER MONTH’, is incorrect and misleading. It is also salacious and defamatory. However, because the law does not recognize defamation of the deceased, that outrageous allegation can be printed without legal consequences,” the party said.

“At no point does the story say that the drug trafficker ever paid anything to Sir Lynden. It is all after-the-fact, third-party hearsay — nothing more than ‘he said, she said’.”

The party added: “The larger point is that the source of the information is manifestly unreliable. The accusations cannot be tested because all the individuals against whom the allegations are made are deceased. They cannot defend themselves. Sir Lynden is dead. Everett Bannister is dead. Gorman Bannister is dead. These allegations, therefore, reflect cowardice, not truth-telling.”

The PLP urged readers to treat Lehder’s comments as worthless. “Convicted criminals often make self-serving statements. Newspapers, in turn, often print whatever will sell. These allegations belong exactly where all other untested claims belong—in the garbage bin of history.”

Lehder’s remarks, made in a YouTube interview promoting his new book, revived a scandal that defined Bahamian politics in the 1980s. A Royal Commission of Inquiry in 1985 found that between 1977 and 1983 Sir Lynden’s household spending exceeded his salary eightfold, with more than $2.8m in unexplained deposits to his accounts. US prosecutors later alleged that millions of dollars in cartel bribes flowed through The Bahamas during the same period and considered charging Sir Lynden on conspiracy grounds, though he was never indicted.

Everette Bannister was repeatedly named in US reporting at the time as a conduit for cartel money, and his son testified in American court that he accompanied him to Norman’s Cay to collect payments from Lehder.

Comments

Porcupine says...

Ha ha ha.
Obviously written by a defence attorney who has spent considerable time confusing facts with fiction, for the people.
Does anyone truly believe anything the PLP says?
Does anyone really dispute that these Lehder / Pindling transactions took place?
I would believe Carlos Lehder before I would believe any official PLP statement.
Does the PLP spend ALL day defending their anti-Bahamian actions, lies, theft and nepotism?
When do they have time to do the People's work?
My God. These people in the PLP party have no shame at all.
What they are really saying is that Sir Lynden had nothing on their ghost moves.
He was a small player compared to the entire PLP administration at present.
The present PLP leadership, led by someone unable to discern the truth if it hit them in the face, has exceeded the "A country for sale" by leaps and bounds.
If Bahamians were educated, spent any time reading at all, we would have never allowed this party to defile The Bahamas as they have, and are currently doing.
Yup, says more about us, than the lousy PLP, hey?
My God, of course he took the money, as one commenter writes, "the equivalent of $667,455.55 US a month" in today's money.
We can still accept that Pindling was a good man and good leader, while acknowledging reality.
Those who are still in denial, despite the books, articles, first-hand accounts are only proving themselves unreliable and delusional.
That the money "wasn't handed directly to Pindlling" is the argument one would expect from a greasy weasel, or a criminal defence lawyer..
The truth seems all but dead here. No remorse. Just a way of doing business, For the PLP.

Posted 2 September 2025, 9:31 a.m. Suggest removal

tell_it_like_it_is says...

To be honest, I don't believe anything the PLP, FNM or COI says. Politicians are usually out for themselves or hungry for power.

Posted 2 September 2025, 12:34 p.m. Suggest removal

ExposedU2C says...

Then why do you bother to register to vote.

Posted 2 September 2025, 10:38 p.m. Suggest removal

sheeprunner12 says...

Do you believe in "Nation for Sale" .... That was real

Posted 2 September 2025, 9:34 a.m. Suggest removal

ExposedU2C says...

But lest we forget, Vomit Christie put Poodling to shame by later making boat loads more money selling our nation to his ChiCom friends.

Posted 2 September 2025, 10:41 p.m. Suggest removal

hrysippus says...

What a clown show. You cannot legally defame a dead person. Once you are dead then you legally have no reputation that can be damaged. Fred must know this.

Posted 2 September 2025, 10:06 a.m. Suggest removal

Porcupine says...

They do. They are floating down a river of shite, and are grasping at straws to save themselves.

Posted 2 September 2025, 10:27 a.m. Suggest removal

DWW says...

is this a joke

Posted 2 September 2025, 1:09 p.m. Suggest removal

joeblow says...

... I guess the PLP have to say something, but we all know better than to believe what they have to say!

Posted 2 September 2025, 1:21 p.m. Suggest removal

SP says...

"I don't recall" say's it all 😳

Posted 2 September 2025, 2:50 p.m. Suggest removal

TalRussell says...

(""Wanna engage in some of your own memory flashbacks back to 1984 by paraphrasing as to which of the 39 **currently** House-seated MPs had expressed their always held inner thoughts about an uncompromising purveyor of 1970s-1980s political ethics?"). --- The 1983-1984 Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCOI) into Drug Trafficking and Government Corruption was appointed to look into the illegal use of the Bahamas for the transshipment of dangerous drugs destined for the United States and of the condemnatory utterances of commissioners' conclusion that indeed monies were accepted from known drug smugglers.” -- 2025 and once again the Americans are saying: **"The Bahamas "long after Sir Lynden O. Pindling") -- IS still a Drug Smugglers Paradise."** -- Maybe answers are questions best left to be directed to the higher ups in command of the colony's Policemans? --- Yes?

Posted 2 September 2025, 2:56 p.m. Suggest removal

ThisIsOurs says...

cnn.com today

"*The United States “conducted a lethal strike” against an alleged “drug vessel” in the southern Caribbean, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday*"

"*The move represents a significant escalation by the Trump administration against drug cartels, a number of which the administration has designated as foreign terrorist organizations.*"

Forewarned.

Posted 2 September 2025, 6:14 p.m. Suggest removal

ThisIsOurs says...

I just dont get it. Intelligent people who want to convince the entire population that an entire drug smuggling operation could be launched from the Bahamas and not one single person in authority said, "*yall know what going on down there? Go check that out*". Nobody know nuttin. Besides Gormon I guess...

Posted 2 September 2025, 6:16 p.m. Suggest removal

sheeprunner12 says...

The PLP leaders & the Pindling family are beyond disingenuous .......

These are the same people who created TWO national holidays to honour SLOP and try to name as many public edifices and spaces as they can after SLOP. Then they lay wreaths and have worship services 3-4 times per year to get more PR out of a dead man to fuel their evil empire.

But now that a man who walked, talked and bribed SLOP for almost a decade to run drugs through our country is speaking out (after spending 30+ years in jail) and giving some grimy details that can hijack the New Day PLP con artist stories, they are catching feelings???

Man, tell all of these lying SOBs to STFU. Pindling & the Old Guard PLPs were crooks, Lady P knew it and the kids as well ..... Don't mind these 21st century PLPs, they are living in the Ana Nicole, Nygard, Bahamar, Sebas, & FTX era of PLP mafioso government.

Posted 2 September 2025, 7:54 p.m. Suggest removal

hrysippus says...

Woah, well, Sheeps, tell us how you really feel.....not that any decent minded educated Bahamian gonna disagree with you .....

Posted 2 September 2025, 10:04 p.m. Suggest removal

ExposedU2C says...

And of course tootie fruity Fwreddy Boy would also have us believe that the very dishonourable George Smith (rest his soul) never in fact did get those two brand spanking new BMWs from Carlos Lehder, one for himself and the other for his wife. LOL

Posted 2 September 2025, 10:51 p.m. Suggest removal

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