“A Wild Goose Chase, Witch-hunt” -Independent Investigators’ Report Rubbishes CPP FD Tampering Allegation

The group of independent expert lawyers commissioned recently to investigate allegations into the CPP framework document tampering has completed their assignment and published on Tuesday, May 24, 2022 the findings in an independent report which methodically outlined how certain constituent members within the Collaborating Political Parties connived with the Weah government to manufacture trumped up charges against Alternative National Congress Standard Bearer and 2023 Presidential Aspirant, Mr. Alexander Cummings, to stigmatize him and undermine his standing as a front-running candidate for the Liberian Presidency.

Referencing excerpts from the experts’ report titled: “The Framework of Political Persecution: The Case of Alexander B. Cummings”, the Office of the Alternative National Congress (ANC) standard bearer said Mr. Cummings welcomes the findings of the independent expert report into tampering allegations made by the All Liberian Party (“ALP”), and which formed the basis of the ongoing criminal proceedings against Mr. Cummings and others in Liberia.

“The findings of the report are conclusive. With the baselessness of the accusations against me now laid bare, the truth – that this was a politicized attempt to impugn my integrity and derail our movement for real change – may prevail. I have always stood firm and calm when the government has violated my own democratic rights. But I could not remain calm as the government orchestrated this trial, which has been an assault on the democratic rights of all Liberians and the values of the international democratic community,” the Office of the ANC Standard Bearer quoted Mr. Cummings as saying.

What are the Findings?

Renowned human rights lawyer Cherie Blair CBE, QC led a team of specialist lawyers from Omnia Strategy and professional investigators from Alaco Limited in forensically examining the allegations against Mr. Cummings.

In an executive summary of the 44-page report’s findings, Mrs. Cherie Blair and team noted from the onset that the report has dispelled the old adage that there is “no smoke without fire”.

“To the contrary, this Report lays bare how baseless complaints have been upheld and bolstered by a fundamentally unreliable, amateurish, political process masquerading as a neutral investigative review, and are inexplicably now before the criminal courts. Whether this was simply incompetence or something more underhand remains to be seen, but four things appear certain,” the Cherie Baire report stated.

The international investigative experts noted in their findings that as a result of the persecution rather than prosecution of the accused, the integrity of Mr Cummings has been impugned without any legitimate basis, and that the internal CPP Investigative Committee Report is wholly unreliable, and a shoddy and unsafe basis for any public investigation let alone a criminal prosecution of a prominent political opponent led by the Solicitor General for the Weah Government.

The Report also concluded that those standing to benefit from these spurious attacks on Mr Cummings are his political opponents, both in the Executive Mansion and others vying for presidential office in 2023; and that, given woefulness of the case against Mr Cummings and his fellow ANC member co-defendants and the substantial effects this would inevitably have on their political aspirations and Liberians’ choice in next year’s election, questions naturally arise concerning the motivation of his accusers and those pushing criminal prosecution.

“This Report is rightly critical of the CPP’s own Investigative Committee’s review and findings, and personally I find it surprising and disappointing that Liberia’s Prosecution Authority would consider bringing such a weak case to court. However, our task has not been to second-guess the ongoing work of Liberia’s courts. My sincere hope and expectation is that the judiciary, as primary guardians of the Rule of Law, will see that justice is done. Liberians deserve nothing less,” Cherie Blaire noted in the Report. 

The Expert Investigators

Omnia is an international law firm founded in 2011 by Cherie Blair CBE, QC. Omnia specializes in bespoke dispute resolution and dispute prevention around the world, through its unique Law+ approach, combining legal expertise with experience across policy, business, and communications. Omnia is trusted by government, corporate and private clients to provide legal and strategic counsel on a broad spectrum of matters, including international arbitration, business and human rights, public international law and more unconventional problem-solving. The firm’s profile can be readily accessed by logging on its website: www.omniastrategy.com.

Established in 2002, Alaco is a leading business intelligence and investigations firm, based in London and operating globally on behalf of its clients on both transactional and contentious matters. In support of its clients, Alaco’s multilingual staff draws on its experience from a variety of backgrounds, such as law, government, journalism, financial services, and diplomacy. Alaco can be reached via www.alaco.com.