Attorney General (AG) Carl Bethel said Tuesday that he has no intentions of involving himself in a political mix-up between government and opposition Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) in relation to the alleged PLP “War Room”, which is said to be responsible for a series of damaging rumors that sought to discredit the Free National Movement (FNM) ahead of the 2017 General Election.
News spread like wildfire Monday that the PLP hired a group of party supporters to allegedly spread rumors about the then opposition FNM.
Bethel confirmed yesterday that he received the WhatsApp messages and voice notes that circulated on social media, which were purportedly from the “War Room.”
The AG said while he gave no formal direction for the Department of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to follow up on the matter, he noted that as an independent body, it will be up to the DPP to determine if legal action will be taken in regards to the allegations of defamation and conspiracy.
“I get complaints of illegality that come to my office every day. What do I as the Attorney General do about that? I make a note on all of those complaints, address it to the office of the Department of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for review,” explained Bethel.
“That means no more that I have moved it off of my desk and put it in the hands of someone whose basic responsibility is to deal with issues of criminal law.
“I do not tell people how to do their jobs. If it comes to me, I am not the person to do their jobs, I just pass on the information as I get it to the responsible officer.”
Fred Mitchell, PLP Chairman, categorically denied the accusations that his party orchestrated a team to defame FNM politicians.
Mitchell, while denying claims of launching intentional negative campaigns against FNM candidates, did admit that “war rooms” are a common thing within political parties during campaign season.
