TIT FOR TAT

McNicolls accused Sharma of misconduct because Sharma accused him of impropriety
Camini Marajh cmarajh@trinidadexpress.com

Chief Magistrate Sherman McNicolls said he "never contemplated criminal proceedings" against Chief Justice Sat Sharma when he accused him of improperly trying to influence the outcome of the Basdeo Panday case.

And, in a shocking admission to the investigating officer appointed by the Judicial and Legal Service Commission (JLSC) to probe allegations of misconduct against him, McNicolls said he "cooperated with the police" because of impropriety allegations levelled against him by Chief Justice Sharma on a land transaction.

In the latest of several contradictory statements prepared by the Chief Magistrate and obtained by the Sunday Express, McNicolls, in private correspondence to the JLSC-appointed prober, Justice Sebastian Ventour, said that in the weeks leading up to the March 5. 2007 collapse of the criminal case against Sharma, he made his position clear that he was "not willing to testify".

In his three-page statement of defence entitled, "Explanation", McNicolls declared that he expressed his reluctance to testify both in writing and verbally to the State's team of prosecutors. In his March 21, 2007 explanation to Justice Ventour, McNicolls cited the February 13, 2007 correspondence he sent to deputy Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Carla Brown-Antoine on the matter.

McNicolls, Sharma's main accuser, said he was reluctant to swear to four of his statements prepared for criminal and impeachment proceedings against Sharma. "Ultimately, I swore to the statements but I was under the impression that the deputy DPP would revert to me on the concerns I had expressed," he wrote, in attempting to justify his refusal to have his evidence tested on cross-examination.

The Chief Magistrate's explanation also spotlights the controversial role of Attorney General John Jeremie in Impeachment I and II of Chief Justice Sharma. McNicolls said he had told the Attorney General of his concerns not to be cross-examined in the criminal proceedings and briefed him on the February 13 letter he had dispatched to the deputy DPP the week before.

My fockin word! Look how the fockin truth does eventually come out eh!

This clearly shows that this is a PNM plot to chase Sharma cont from office. I hope the day would come when they will pay dearly for this.