Minister of State for Legal Affairs Damian Gomez said yesterday he is "not looking to resign at this time" but suggested that he is leaving his options open. Gomez spoke to The Nassau Guardian shortly after he met with Prime Minister Perry Christie in the Majority Room in the House of Assembly. While Gomez did not reveal what was discussed during the meeting, he declared that he continues to support the prime minister.
National Review revealed yesterday that trusted sources confirmed that Gomez was preparing to leave Cabinet. When questioned on the matter on Sunday, Gomez said he had "no comment". He explained yesterday why he avoided the question.
"I'm not at this point looking to resign," he said. "I've just not commented on it. I'm always confronted with economic opportunities, but my saying no comment merely highlights the point that at some point if I choose to resign I can do so without having led the public to believe that I was taking the course or not taking the course."
Gomez offered his resignation more than six weeks ago after he learned that the files for a group of men he represented while he was a defense lawyer were among extradition files that could not be located.
The United States has been seeking the extradition of those former clients (Austin Knowles and others) on drug charges for more than a decade.
Just over a week after it was revealed that files were reportedly missing, Attorney General Allyson Maynard-Gibson released a statement intended to "clarify questions regarding extradition files".
The attorney general did not directly address the matter of reported missing files, but she said extradition cases "are receiving full attention and are either in progress before the court or awaiting a court date so they may proceed".
At the time he offered his resignation, Gomez said it was the right thing to do to protect the reputation of the Office of the Attorney General. Christie refused to accept Gomez's resignation. Gomez in turn asked to be transferred to another ministry. It is unclear whether during the meeting yesterday Christie agreed to a transfer for Gomez.
Gomez confirmed on Sunday that the prime minister had not yet discussed the matter of a possible transfer with him.
Asked yesterday about his relationship with Christie, Gomez said it remains unchanged.
"I have been a supporter of the PLP and the prime minister in particular during probably the darkest moments of his political career," he said. "His counting on my support ought not to really be the subject of public speculation having regard to the historical situation that we've endured."
This is not the first time Gomez contemplated resigning from Cabinet. In January, National Review revealed that he was frustrated by the government's failure to deliver on certain promises to the people of South Eleuthera. In December, Gomez sent a letter to Christie expressing his disappointment. The letter was later leaked to The Nassau Guardian.
Christie suggested that Gomez leaked it, though Gomez said that he didn't.
Gomez said he considered resigning after Christie intimated that he lied about leaking the letter, which suggested a lack of confidence. Gomez said after it was confirmed that he was not the source of the leak, the matter came to an end. Asked yesterday if he was still disappointed in the government's performance, Gomez suggested that he wasn't.
"The budget is a healthy sign that we are on track to do what we promised the people in 2012," he said.
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