Government of Jamaica mum on Brady's letter to PM

The Bruce Golding administration went mostly silent yesterday in the wake of more damning allegations about its role in the Manatt, Phelps & Phillips fiasco.

With the media releasing details of a letter from attorney-at-law Harold Brady to Golding, more questions were raised about the truth behind the Manatt mess.

But it was left to the Government's point man, minister with responsibility for information, Daryl Vaz, to answer these questions as he faced journalists at the weekly post-Cabinet media briefing at Jamaica House.

However, Vaz did not have much to say, pointing to the fact that Brady has filed a libel suit against Golding.

"That (Brady) letter is dated the 15th of September and gave a timeline of seven days for the prime minister to withdraw comments made and apologise, which was not forthcoming. As a result, a lawsuit was filed and the prime minister issued a statement that he will be defending it vigorously," Vaz said.

He added: "It is now a matter in the courts and you would realise that I have not commented on this matter even before it became a court issue. It is now a court issue and for the court to decide where the truth lies," Vaz told journalists.

According to Vaz who, based on Brady's claims, was a central player in engaging Manatt, the party has already addressed the issue of the payment of the money to the law firm, which was raised afresh in the letter.

Court matter

"As much as I would love to respond in relation to where I am implicated, I am bound by the fact that it is a court matter and I will have to follow the procedures and respond through the proper channels," Vaz said.

In a letter to the prime minister dated September 15, 2010, lawyers representing Brady claimed Golding's imputations, allegations and innuendoes at a press conference a day earlier, when he claimed the attorney was no longer a member of the Jamaica Labour Party and was asked to resign from all government boards, were completely false.

The lawyers argued that Brady was introduced to the entire Manatt episode when he was invited to a meeting by Golding at which former government senator, Dr Ronald Robinson, was present.

Robinson has so far been the only casualty of the Manatt mess, when he resigned as a senator and junior minister because of his role in the affair.

In the meantime, Brady's lawyers claim his international contacts referred him to Manatt, which pointed out that it could only take on the issue if it was done as a government representative and under a paid retainer.

"Our client reported in full to you (Golding), at a meeting at which Minister Daryl Vaz was present, and you instructed him to agree to (Manatt's) terms but to ensure, as best as possible, that the Government did not appear to be involved," claimed Brady's lawyers.

"At that meeting, you delegated all the financial implications to be handled by Minister Vaz," added the lawyers.

"Our client denies that he has breached a single instruction he received from you. On the contrary, every single action taken by him was in furtherance of your specific instructions and he has never received any instructions from anyone else."

Brady's lawyers also claimed that Manatt officials facilitated discussions between the US State Department and the Government of Jamaica, based on Golding's instructions, but "the initiative became untenable once these activities were made public and you (Golding) took a hands-off public stance".