Beautiful Virgin Islands

Sunday, Jul 20, 2025

AG’s team makes belated request to redact public COI documents

AG’s team makes belated request to redact public COI documents

Attorney General (AG) Dawn Smith has belatedly requested for several documents submitted to the Commission of Inquiry (COI) months ago to now be redacted, though they’re already fully available online.

The request has been made in the interest of national security the COI was told recently.

According to COI attorney, Bilal Rawat, among the documents the AG is requesting for redaction are Cabinet and National Security Council (NSC) papers — several of which were previously discussed in open hearings before the COI.

Rawat said redaction is also being sought for matters relating to questions previously put to heads of the Joint Task Force (JTF) about EZ Shipping and the purchase of radar barge services.

Redaction requests fully ventilated in public documents


However, the COI attorney noted that those matters were raised during private hearings. He added that any security concerns were fully ventilated at that time.

Rawat argued that the AG was given time to consider the transcripts of the closed-door hearings and seek any redactions she wanted; including for national security reasons.

It was after this consideration, he said, the hearings transcripts were then published, adding that those documents have been on the COI’s website for some considerable time now.

The COI attorney suggested there appears to be a lack of coherence on the AG’s part. “The left hand is not speaking to the right,” he stated.

Make a proper application


Meanwhile, attorney Hussein Haeri, who appeared on behalf of the AG, argued that the National Security Council (NSC) documents are highly confidential and sensitive and said this is the reason for a request for the redaction of the material.

According to Haeri, the confidentiality of the documents is a particular type of Public Interest Immunity (PII) that the COI should consider. He said the relevance of the material to the COI was also an issue to be considered.

Rawat then told Haeri: “It comes down to this: We cannot accept the redactions that are being sought because there is no coherence to them. And if PII is being asserted, we really must stop just running around with the phrase. The time has come to make a proper application.”

After listening to the arguments, Inquiry Commissioner, Sir Gary Hickinbottom then ruled that the application for redactions must be properly made by 4 pm today so they can be heard before the COI by next Monday, September 13.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Defends Attorney General Pam Bondi Amid Epstein Memo Backlash
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
King Charles Meets David Beckham at Chelsea Flower Show
If the Department is Really About Justice: Ghislaine Maxwell Should Be Freed Now
NYC Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s ‘Antifada’ Remarks Spark National Debate on Political Language and Economic Policy
President Trump Visits Flood-Ravaged Texas, Praises Community Strength and First Responders
×