WITHOUT GOVERNOR’S SIGNATURE
Hagåtña, Guam – Governor Lou Leon Guerrero formally requested copies of all Office of the Attorney General contracts from the Department of Administration today, as well as communications or memoranda from the OAG discussing the OAG’s justification for executing contracts without the Governor’s approval or signature. Guam law explicitly states that all agencies that fall within the centralized accounting regime, including the OAG, are subject to Guam law requiring the Governor’s approval and signature for all contracts to be executed. The request was sent following media comments by Attorney General Doug Moylan claiming that the Governor’s signature is not required on OAG contracts for procured services or goods.
“The more we learn about the Attorney General’s practices, the clearer it has become that he is picking and choosing what laws to follow and what laws to ignore,” said Governor Leon Guerrero. “The AG’s processes have not been scrutinized by the Legislature the way they have scrutinized other agencies, and he has not been audited by the Public Auditor. I am concerned this has left him with a false impression that he is invincible – that he can do whatever he wants without consequence. That is simply not true.”
Though the Office of the Governor has recently sent FOIAs to the OAG for attorney contracts, the production was in parts illegible and incomplete. Today’s request was directed to DOA to ensure the production of a complete record of the requested material. Guam law requires the OAG to submit its contracts to the DOA. The Office of the Governor also sent a FOIA to the OAG, requesting internal memoranda or opinions the OAG believes justifies their illegal actions.
“The law could not be clearer: All contracts shall be submitted to the Governor for her signature. All contracts of whatever nature shall be executed upon approval of the Governor,” noted Adelup Director of Communications Krystal Paco-San Agustin. “Closing your eyes and pretending the law doesn’t exist is a terrible strategy for the chief legal officer for the government of Guam. The law says what it says.”
###