The whistle-blower who provided Opposition Leader Keith Rowley with a package of e-mails last December confirmed to Rowley the substance of the information was true, says PNM PRO Faris Al-Rawi.
He was asked about aspects of the controversy yesterday after the conclusion of debate on Wednesday in Parliament, where Rowley produced the 31 e-mails.
He said the e-mails, bearing the addresses of some high government officials, purported to contain a plot by those officials on the Section 34 issue.
Al-Rawi said he saw the e-mails for the first time when Rowley spoke about them to a PNM group last week Saturday before this week's debate.
He said he pointed out the discrepancies to Rowley and he said Rowley said he was aware of them but he said Rowley specifically directed the material be brought forward to the Parliament in exactly the same format in which he had received it.
Al-Rawi said he did not think the discrepancies in the e-mails affected their credibility and Rowley had received hard-copy printouts of the e-mails last December and had also said he had verified them.
Asked if the whistle-blower had witnessed the purported events in the e-mails, the matter being written or had other personal knowledge of the e-mails which would support the whistle-blower's claim that they were true, Al-Rawi said: "I can't speak to that."
He also said he did not know if the whistle-blower had sufficient background to be sure the e-mails were valid.
He queried what would be done to the whistle-blower if he or she were brought forward for which the UNC was clamouring.
Asked if Rowley then took the word of the whistle-blower, Al-Rawi said: "He assessed the information and it was apparent from events that transpired at the times when these were purportedly written that an investigation was required."
On what other processes the PNM subjected the material to in order to verify it, Al-Rawi said he was not aware of other processes.
"But I know Dr Rowley says he was comfortable to bring this forward because, having taken it to the President, and it having gone to the Integrity Commission (IC) and there being no IC yet appointed, it is necessary to raise public awareness and public sentiment around these issues to press for the appointment of an investigator through the IC," he said.
Asked about the view in some quarters speculating about the e-mails' origins that the enemy of the PNM's enemies were its friends, Al-Rawi said he didn't know the whistle-blower's identity or whether the police probe would cover all of that.
He said that was why a forensic probe was needed, perhaps with expertise from abroad.
He said Rowley felt compelled to bring the material to the Parliament "which is the only forum which affords protection for proper ventilation of this kind of issue."
He added: "It's the only forum which will cause the weight of public opinion to be raised to ensure institutions, like the Integrity Commission, are properly populated.
Al-Rawi said it was not for Rowley and the PNM to have evidence or to investigate the issue but to raise it for it to be investigated. He said the PNM did not have the resources the police had to probe the matter.
Asked why the party had not then taken the e-mails to the police or Director of Public Prosecutions or other authorities to check them out before revealing them, Al-Rawi said the information pointed to subterfuge among T&T's highest office-holders and it was imperative to report that to no other than the highest office-holder in T&T, the President and the Integrity Commission.
"The IC has broad powers to allow this to be probed and can supervise, via independent authority. If the Prime Minister says the IC's powers do not allow it to undertake this task, the Prime Minister stands in ignorance of Section 138 (2 )(d) of the Constitution, which allows the IC to monitor and investigate conduct, practices and procedures or dishonesty or corruption," he added.
On another aspect of the controversy, Rowley said in Parliament on Wednesday that the "Thomas" referred to in one September 10 e-mail, whom he had guessed was US charge d'affaires Thomas Smitham, was not in fact Smitham.
Rowley said it was "another Thomas." This was after both Government and the US Embassy pointed out Thomas Smitham arrived in T&T in late November, after the e-mail was allegedly written.
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, ending debate on Wednesday, apologised to Smitham for his name having been dragged into the spotlight because of the PNM's e-mails.
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Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has volunteered to give up her Blackberry cellphone to police to assist in their probe of the PNM's e-mails.She said during the conclusion of Thursday's Parliament debate on the issue she had noted Opposition Leader Keith Rowley's queries about if the police had checked any equipment in connection with the issue.She added: "They can take it. They can probe us. My hands are clean and my heart is pure. If there is any further information needed, I will hand over my Blackberry."
Yesterday Al-Rawi said Government members mentioned in the issue should have done what was normally done in the private sector in matters like the e-mails, hand over all data, equipment and laptops etc.He said a search and seizure also applied in police cases. He also said all of the Government officials should have made a statutory declaration immediately that they were not involved in the e-mail issue.
Yesterday Al-Rawi, asked who the other "Thomas" was, said he did not know.