Scott Condemns ‘Reckless And Futile Lawsuit’
[Updated] Former Attorney-General Trevor Moniz’s “foolish and dangerous gamble cost tax payers at least a million dollars in legal fees,” PLP MP Michael Scott, adding that if he “had a shred of decency, he would do the right thing: apologise to the people of Bermuda and resign his seat.”
Michael Scott said: “I wish to condemn in the most severe terms, former Attorney General Trevor Moniz’s reckless and futile lawsuit that caught the attention of the US Federal Government.
“As revealed in Parliament on Friday, the former Government was contacted by the US Department of Justice, in light of the court filing in the unsuccessful Lahey Clinic lawsuit, to ensure that the provisions of the US/Bermuda treaty had been adhered to.
Audio excerpt of some of the exchange in Parliament on Friday:
“As per the provisions of the Treaty, information or evidence provided by the US authorities must be kept confidential and should not be used for any purpose other than what it was requested for.
“Therefore, if the former Attorney General had decided to use alleged intelligence gathered from one investigation to support a civil lawsuit, it could have put at risk Bermuda’s relationship with the US Government.
“The maintenance of Bermuda’s relationship with the US Government is no small matter.
“MP Trevor Moniz’s foolish and dangerous gamble cost tax payers at least a million dollars in legal fees that should have been spent on education and other social initiatives.
“Trevor Moniz’s actions did not justly represent the Government or the People of Bermuda; instead his risky crusade put all of our futures at stake. If MP Moniz had a shred of decency, he would do the right thing: apologise to the people of Bermuda and resign his seat.”
Update 5.55pm: An OBA spokesperson said, “There have been a number of baseless allegations in the past week that are not true and are reckless in nature. MP Moniz will have an opportunity on Friday in the House to respond to all of these false allegations.”
