The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Chief Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

LONG Island MP Dr Andre Rollins pressed Prime Minister Philip Davis in Parliament yesterday to say whether public funds or money tied to government members are paying legal fees for convicted drug trafficker Jonathan Eric Gardiner.

Dr Rollins raised the issue while questioning a consultancy services allocation, asking whether the line item included payments to private attorneys providing legal services to the government.

After Mr Davis confirmed that it did, Dr Rollins asked whether the government was directly or indirectly paying for Gardiner’s legal team.

Mr Davis rejected the premise and declined to be drawn further.

“I'm not going to go down the rabbit hole that this young man wants us to go,” he said. “I indicated that that line item is set up for the payment of legal services provided to the government of The Bahamas, not any individuals.”

Dr Rollins said the response was insufficient and pushed the prime minister for a direct answer. Mr Davis declined to respond and remained seated.

The clash came after Gardiner’s arrest in the United States last month after an aircraft travelling from Marsh Harbour, Abaco, to Grand Bahama crashed off the Florida coast on Election Day.

He was charged on Wednesday with cocaine and firearms conspiracy offences stemming from what US federal prosecutors allege was a long-running conspiracy to move large quantities of cocaine into the United States by plane.

Gardiner has denied the allegations.

US authorities previously reported that when Gardiner was rescued, he had three mobile phones and $30,000 in Bahamian currency packed in a manner consistent with narcotics proceeds.

The money was allegedly found in an envelope labelled with the handwritten name of a Bahamian politician, whose name was redacted in the US filing.

That is the same politician US authorities allege met with an undercover DEA source inside Parliament to discuss a cocaine shipment allegedly worth $30m.

The indictment controversy has dominated parts of this year’s budget debate, with opposition members repeatedly demanding answers from the Davis administration.

Mr Davis told Parliament on Wednesday that the “serious allegations” would be subjected to a full and independent investigation.

“Allegations of this gravity are far too serious to be cheapened into a cycle of accusation, speculation, and spectacle,” he said. “The only facts we know are the ones already in the public sphere. Up until now, the American courts provided no further information.”