From CARIBBEAN360

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, Sunday May 31, 2015 – Insisting that her hands are clean, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has put the matter of Jack Warner’s “slanderous” statements against her, following his release from jail, in the hands of her lawyers.

But she says she is not worried about any of the revelations which Warner says he will make about her.

The 72-year-old politician, who is facing extradition to the United States to face corruption charges related to his 15 years as vice-president of football’s world governing body, FIFA, has insisted Persad-Bissessar got money from him to fund her election campaign and made other allegations.

“I did get a copy of what Mr Warner actually said and I have placed his slanderous statements in the hands of my lawyers. There is absolutely no truth in the words I heard him speak in an interview and from his platform. It is in the hands of my lawyers, the statements are totally untrue and go beyond untrue and are slanderous and defamatory statements,” Persad-Bissessar told reporters yesterday.

Warner has accused the government of being behind the charges and has declared “the gloves are off”, promising to expose the prime minister.

However, Persad-Bissessar said yesterday: “Some people say, and I’m not of that view, but some people are saying they agree that the gloves are off and that he may be clearing the way for the handcuffs.”

She also dismissed Warner’s threats.

“If you recall every single year and even before I became prime minister, the gentleman has threatened – if you want to use those words. I don’t see it as threats, I see them more as ranting and raving. He has always threatened about having files, then he comes and says he has no files, now he says he has more files,” she said.

Warner is among 14 people – current and former FIFA officials and sports marketing executives – charged with with racketeering, bribery, wire fraud and money laundering, stemming from a scheme, dating back 24 years, that involved $150 million in bribes and kickbacks being paid to obtain lucrative media and marketing rights to international soccer tournaments.

On Wednesday, hours after the indictment was unsealed in a federal court in Brooklyn, he appeared in court in relation to the US authorities’ attempt to have him extradited.

He is out on TT$2.5 million (US$394,601) bail and will return to court on July 12.

IMAGE: PRIME MINISTER KAMLA PERSAD-BISSESSAR

For more on this story go to: http://www.caribbean360.com/news/trinidad-pm-says-jack-warner-has-nothing-on-her-and-puts-matter-in-lawyers-hands#ixzz3bozz6xru

Related story:

Warner to PM: “the gloves are off”

From T&T Newsday
Laying his imprisonment at the doorstep of the government. Chaguanas West Member of Parliament and Political Leader of the Independent Liberal Party (ILP)t, Jack Warner, issued a strong warning to Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar last night: the gloves are off.

Kamla, having jailed me, “he directed at the Prime Minister,” As of tonight the gloves are off. If Kamla has a soft chin that is her business.” Warner was speaking at an ILP cottage meeting in Endeavour last night. He told the meeting of enthusiastic supporters that he knew nothing of the charges brought against him.

He said all the things he knew about Kamla he will now reveal. He said he had them back too long. Fresh from his 24 hours at the Port of Spain remand yard which he began shortly after five o’clock on Wednesday afternoon, Warner accused the Prime Minister of not speaking the truth when she told members of the media yesterday that she received no monies from him to fund the UNC campaign in 2010.

Suggesting that he had a lot to say about the Prime Minister, he told the meeting of trips he made to contractors to collect monies for the UNC. He said that during one of the meetings he felt so obscene that he walked out and “Stacy walked in.”

But Warner said he would be speaking more in time to come, and would be preparing related information which he was going to share with attorneys of the ILP, PNM and MSJ, so that if anything happened to him, they will have the information.

Warner told his supporters that for the first time he felt his life threatened. But he would not relent.

He spoke about having a good night in prison, confirming that he spent his time in the infirmary where he was able to look at television.

He thanked the prisons officers, the Deputy Commissioner of Prisons, Ronald Morgan, Superintendent Mohammed and others. He said that the government has caused the prison to be the worst place, but the service from the personnel was like the Hyatt.

He joked that the BBC and Canadian television had come to cover his meeting last night, and that if one night in jail could create that, he would spend two.

Making jail he said was a badge of honour, and referred to several great men like Nelson Mandela, Indira Ghandi, Fidel Castro and Basdeo Panday who had been imprisoned, so who was Jack Warner.

Warner boasted about his 30 consecutive years with FIFA, 15 of those years as Vice President, an achievement which he said China with its 3 billion people, India with 1.4 billion and the United States with 300 million never attained, adding “but in this country of 1.3 million, I was.”

He said people envied and hated him because he was a heartbeat away from Blatter, but more than that there were people in Trinidad and Tobago who hated him and would want to put him in prison.

Warner said he knew nothing of the charges brought against him and up til now, no one has asked him.

And what his lawyers have done is to tell them to prove it.

He said there were people in the country and in the government who hated him and would want to imprison him.

What have I done?” he asked, “I have seen that I have been charged by the USA for crimes committed in Zurich. FIFA eh charge me you know, Fifa eh charge me, and the fact is the charge came down here, and in 15 minutes, Nicohlas signed It. He never asked me one minute to come and say what the problem here . He never even asked whether there was any evidence to the charge, but he signed to extradite me. It took him 15minuts to do that after speaking to Kamla and Anand.”

“Something has to be wrong here,” Warner said.

He said he was moved in particular yesterday by calls he received from Basdeo Panday and Mrs Panday and their daughter Mickela, as well as from Minister of Foreign Affairs, Winston Dookeran and his wife.”

For more on this story go to: http://www.newsday.co.tt/news/0,211856.html