OFF THE CUFF: Justice and political mayhem

COINCIDENCE? – Interim Supreme Court President Hernán De León is pondering one of the most difficult decisions of his judicial career: to  “come out” with the name of the blackmailer who he says has compromising recordings, or to clamp up and live with a permanent cloud over his future rulings. Meanwhile, as the storm gathers he has closed his Twitter account and by coincidence,  the justice website is down.in a brief statement, De León does not deny that he was recorded but alleges that what was said by the prosecutor is only a fraction of what was discussed. La Prensa asks If during his visit to the Attorney General they discussed nothing sinful, why did it bother him?

SHADOWS  –

Hovering over Panama ’s judicial crisis is the shadow of Jose Ayu Prado who while reigning as Supreme Court president for two terms, never saw an invitation to an event in some far off destination that he could refuse. making him the most jet-setting judge in the history of the court. The man  Ricardo Martinelli fast-tracked from relative obscurity via the Attorney General’s office to the court said last November that he would be seeking a third term at the helm. On Jan. 31 he abruptly announced his immediate resignation and later denied that he had been forced out by the Security Council.

VENTRILOQUISM –
Ex-president Ricardo Martinelli’s voice piece  Eduardo Camacho claims that recent statements by the Attorney General are an act of ventriloquism of President Juan Carlos Varela.  The pot calling the kettle black has been sitting at the knee of ex-president Ricardo Martinelli since he fled the country in 2015 and has parroted the  Martinelli political persecution message from upscale Coral Gables Starbucks in Miami to coffee and croissants in the El Renacer prison.

ELECTION CIRCUS –
The 2019 elections in Panama promise to be  a crowded and rough event with a long list of runners, as  wannabe presidents  and deputies jostle for  position as they head for the primary first fence where many will fall, but some old stalwarts  like Sergio Galvez spite of being loaded  with old  vote-buying  baggage  will barge their way through. Uniquely a host of would-be starters are awaiting trial for various corruption “anomalies” during the last administration, but the race stewards at the Electoral Tribunal will see that they make their way safely to the starting gate. After that, it’s up to the voters to remove their own blinkers.