By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS


and LEANDRA ROLLE


Tribune Staff Reporters

FOREIGN Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell defended the PLP against claims of hypocrisy yesterday, arguing that a fraud writ the party tabled against former Deputy Prime Minister Peter Turnquest in 2020 was different from the US court affidavit it now wants kept out of Parliament because the earlier document was Bahamian.

Mr Mitchell appeared to suggest that a local court document could be placed before Parliament on its face, while foreign documents – even one filed in one of the United States’ most prominent federal judicial districts – requires further authentication or review before being given similar treatment.

FNM leader Michael Pintard, making a second unsuccessful attempt to table documents tied to the US allegations, argued that allegations involving a member of Parliament and a sworn affidavit filed by US authorities had implications for Parliament’s credibility and the country’s international reputation.

Mr Mitchell’s response, during yesterday’s morning sitting of the House of Assembly, came after The Nassau Guardian noted that the PLP, while in opposition in 2020, tabled a writ containing untested fraud allegations involving Mr Turnquest, who was then deputy prime minister and minister of finance.

Mr Turnquest was accused of being a conspirator in an alleged scheme to defraud two companies of about $28m while in private life, although he was not named as a defendant. Then-Opposition Leader Philip “Brave” Davis repeatedly called for his resignation, and Mr Turnquest later resigned from Cabinet.

“I am advised, and very believe, first of all, that that document that was entered was a Bahamian document,” Mr Mitchell said yesterday. “Foreign documents, when they’re entered into evidence in this country have to be apostille to be authenticated as the document, so that’s the other thing, so you’re dealing, the distinction is you’re not dealing with a Bahamian document.”

The fight centres on a US court filing that alleges an unnamed Bahamian politician met an undercover Drug Enforcement Administration source and a pilot inside a Parliament building in October 2024 to discuss a cocaine shipment allegedly worth $30m.

The filing refers to the unnamed figure as “Politician-1”.

House Speaker Patricia Deveaux first blocked moves to table the documents on Tuesday after saying she would not entertain what she called “frivolous” and “malicious” gossip.

Mr Mitchell continued his objection yesterday.

“This is not a forum for sub judice,” the Fox Hill MP added.

Mr Pintard pushed back, saying many documents previously tabled by the opposition were not first reviewed by the Speaker.

However, Mrs Deveaux did not relent. She said opposition members could present the documents to her clerk and that she would be guided by her legal team.

Mr Pintard argued that the allegations risked damaging the reputation of the House of Assembly, but Mrs Deveaux rejected that view.

Later in the day, Mr Pintard held a press conference condemning the Speaker’s actions and what he described as the government’s lack of transparency on the matter.

During the budget debate, Mr Mitchell warned that Parliament should not give formal standing to allegations that have not been tested in court and could ultimately prove false or defamatory.

He pointed to the controversy involving North Abaco MP Kirk Cornish as an example of why Parliament should proceed cautiously.

“The point that I wish to emphasise is that I have seen us go down this road before with the member for North Abaco,” he said. “There was the most unseemly, salacious set of allegations being hurled at this fellow.”

“He could not respond to it, and what could we do, except to say, let us hear the other side, and as it turns out, the other side shows that it was just bogus. The whole thing was bogus.”

In 2024, Mr Cornish was acquitted of two counts of rape and one count of assault.

Mr Pintard rejected the claim that the US criminal complaint was irrelevant to the budget debate, arguing that allegations involving a member of Parliament and a sworn affidavit filed by US authorities have implications for Parliament’s credibility and the country’s international reputation.

He said the opposition was not asserting that the allegations were true, but said the government had a duty to respond publicly.

Mr Pintard said the government’s response has been inadequate and argued that both the executive and Parliament have a responsibility to reassure Bahamians if the allegations are false.