Muddied waters around AG suspension and her replacement

The waters around the suspension of Panama’s first woman Attorney General Ana Matilde Gomez, and the appointment by the government of an alternate continue to get muddier.
From commentators there are suggestions of a political vendetta and concerns over the seemingly increasing powers of President Ricardo Martinelli.

Martinelli, who travelled to Davos last week to attend the World Economic Forum, designated the acting attorney general to replace the suspended Ana Matilda Gómez "from abroad." He went there after arriving in Jeans and tee shirt for the inauguration of the Honduras president, raising eyebrows in the regionand at home

Minister of the Presidency Demetrius Papadimitriu said on the weekend said that the president was outside the country when he named Giuseppe Bonissi to the post.

La Prensa says this has raised Constitutional issues as the document states that the Cabinet Council and the president have to be in "agreement" on this appointment, something Martinelli’s trip made impossible.

The appointment was made before the Cabinet could meet to discuss the matter, much less come to an agreement.

Martinelli will meet with the Cabinet for the first time since the appointment on Tuesday when he returns.

Juan Antonio Tejada the lawyer for Gómez, , criticized the government for abusing the article which allowed Bonissi to be appointed.

"An integral and historical analysis of the Constitution reveals that article 200 is ‘debris’ that is left over from reforms," Tejada said.

The designation of Bonissi as "alternate" was a smokescreen to allow Martinelli to replace Gómez. This, he said, is problematic since the judicial order that suspended the attorney general is temporary, and not permanent.

The investigation against her is in a preparatory phase," Tejada said. It is also not official because the Supreme Court, which issued the order suspending Gómez, has to make it official next week.

Gómez was suspended for ordering an illegal wiretap of a prosecutor who was later fired for demanding payments for preferential treatment of defendants. He is now before the courts.