The attorney for Fred Smith, QC, and Zack Bacon, the brother of Lyford Cay resident Louis Bacon, has written Education Minister Jerome Fitzgerald and Tall Pines MP Leslie Miller seeking their assistance in determining the source of certain information on Save The Bays (STB) revealed in the House of Assembly last month.
In the letter to Fitzgerald, dated April 1, Ferron J. M. Bethell of Harry B. Sands, Lobosky & Company, pointed to a confidential email exchange between the STB clients that he read in the House of Assembly on March 17, 2016.
"A very small number of people would have legitimately had access to this correspondence and nobody was entitled to make it public," the letter reads. "It therefore follows that someone has disclosed the private email exchange to you when she/he was unauthorized to do so and in breach of our clients' confidentiality."
Bethell asked the minister to provide copies of or details of all confidential email exchanges and other documents that he has seen which belong to the STB members. He is also asking the minister to provide "details of the circumstances pursuant to which these email exchanges and other documents came into your possession, including the names of your friends in the U.S. who are referred to in The Punch article".
The attorney is also seeking the minister's undertaking not to publish or otherwise disclose further confidential information relating to the STB members "other than in proper exercise of parliamentary privilege, including private email exchanges occurring between our clients or their legal representatives".
The letter continues, "We hope as a member of Parliament that you will assist with the administration of justice by acceding to our clients' reasonable requests. In the meantime, we reiterate our clients reserve all rights, including the right to draw this correspondence to the attention of the speaker of the House of Assembly or a court of law, as necessary."
Fitzgerald has faced criticism ever since he read and tabled the emails in the House of Assembly. He did so while charging that Save The Bays is a political organization under the guise of an environmental group that has used "millions and millions of dollars" to "entrap" Lyford Cay resident Peter Nygard and destabilize the government. Fitzgerald also indicated he had financial records to back up his claim. Last week, he threatened to reveal more information on the matter.
During the mid-year budget debate last month, Miller alleged that five members of Save The Bays take home a combined salary of $740,000.
"I saw a document yesterday that says that the Bahamians who are involved in this charade, one of them takes home a salary of $90,000 per year," Miller said.
"Another one who is an entertainer is taking home $150,000 a year. Another one who is associated with the program is taking home $100,000 a year. Another one who claims to be a pastor is taking home another $150,000. And the big fish, the fellow who is behind it all, takes home an average of a quarter of a million [dollars] a year, plus expenses."
In his letter to the Tall Pines MP, the attorney said it is clear that from Miller's comments he has seen a confidential document belonging to Bacon and Smith. Bethell made similar requests of Miller as he did of Fitzgerald.
The attorney recently informed Data Protection Commissioner Sharmie Farrington-Austin that his firm is conducting an examination of the "unauthorized disclosure" of their clients' personal emails. He wrote that his firm is obtaining reports from the parliamentary sessions at which the personal data was discussed and reviewing any disclosures made outside of such proceedings.
"As soon as these steps have been completed, we shall update you and anticipate seeking your assistance in relation to the unauthorized disclosure of personal data," Bethell wrote. "At this stage, whilst we note your initial stance, we must reserve our clients' position in relation to the applicability of parliamentary privilege."
By Candia Dames
Managing Editor
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