Governor Albert Bryan will hold a press conference at 2:00 p.m. today to make what Government House has described as an “important” Department of Justice announcement. However, though the administration did not give any hints as to what will be announced, Mr. Bryan is expected to name an attorney general at the event, which is being held at the Arthur Able Complex (Old Danish School) in Frederiksted, a person with knowledge of the matter has told The Consortium.
This person said Mr. Bryan could name either Paul Jimenez, or Denise George-Counts as the new A.G. to lead the Department of Justice. However, the better bet is on Ms. George-Counts, who has worked at the Department of Justice for years in a variety of areas, the last being the department’s White Collar Crime arm. Her last high-profile case was the Schneider Regional Medical Center case with Rodney Miller et al.
Mr. Bryan has said he intends to introduce legislation to the Senate that would allow attorneys general to serve for six-year terms — giving them autonomy to work on the behalf of the people — and removing the governor’s power to replace an attorney general without cause.
Currently, an attorney general serves at the pleasure of the governor and can be replaced at any time. This setup has oftentimes prevented attorneys general from effectively performing their duties, and it has been blamed by political observers as the cause for corruption in many governments.
“No longer will the attorney general be beholden to the politics of any particular administration, rather the attorney general will serve in the best interest of the people and this territory, regardless of who is sitting in Government House,” Mr. Bryan said during his State of the Territory Address in January.
The governor did not give an indication as to when the bill would be introduced, but the timeline is not expected to be protracted.
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