The ‘system’ to which Malone was referring was government. He made the claim during Standing Finance Committee’s (SFC) deliberations late last year.

When the COI was originally established in 2021, it was expected to be a six-month inquiry, but its life was extended on at least two occasions for more hearings to take place and for additional documents to be submitted by the government.

Malone told the SFC that the COI surely would have overwhelmed the system, save for the fact that particular monies were expended.

According to Malone, the cost of the services rendered both at the Attorney General’s Office and by the public officers in gathering, compiling, writing all of this information, and presenting it had not been calculated.

Govt’s stellar response not possible without Withers

Up to the point of the SFC meetings in November and December of last year, Attorney General (AG) Dawn Smith stated that the COI had already been ongoing for 319 days. She then said her Chambers was engaged in related COI work for every one of those days.

The Attorney General further stated that the sterling response of the government would not have been possible without the assistance of Withers — the law firm that the government hired to represent them in the COI. She said the workload arising from the COI was simply too much for the AG’s Chambers to handle properly on its own.

Smith also told the SFC that the government had disclosed more than ten thousand documents totalling approximately 15,000 pages, responded to 159 letters of requests from the COI, and provided 67 notarised affidavits.

The government had also responded to 19 orders from the COI, 24 warning letters, provided 21 witness statements, made more than 29 submissions on legal points and related matters, provided four position statements on behalf of ministers and the elected government, and responded to not less than 52 letters and emails from the COI requiring a substantive response.

While addressing the SFC, Smith added that even now that the COI hearings have concluded, the Chambers and the Inquiry Response Unit are still responding to almost daily correspondence from the COI.