By Bill W. Cooper
The former chairperson of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), Cllr. Jerome Verdier, blasted Senate Pro-tempore Albert Chie for accusing United States Ambassador, Michael McCarthy of ‘internal meddling and being an opposition sympathizer.’
He said, “Liberia is indeed at a crossroad because it is worrisome and troubling to have a predator on the country’s treasury questioning and labeling a man of reputation, moral and integrity of internal meddling and as an opposition sympathizer only because he exposed and alarmed about the sufferings of our citizens in rural parts of the country.”
Verdier also characterized the Grand Kru County Senator a ‘fool and a thief’ that must not be given credence over his continued posture to perform the job of the Executive who claims to execute projects as a result of his consistent character of corruption and unconscionable wealth.
Recently, Ambassador Michael McCarthy accused the Liberian government, most especially the Legislature for being deeply entrenched in corruption without regard for the suffering of destitute Liberians in rural Liberia.
In response, Pro-tempore Albert Chie, in an audio in Grand Kru County deliberately accused the U.S. Ambassador of being an ‘opposition sympathizer’ that is spreading “falsehood” about the Weah-led administration just to tilt the democratic level playing field in favor of the opposition camp in the October 10, polls.
But in defense of the U.S diplomat, Cllr. Verdier in a dispatch to IPNews online Wednesday, May 3, 2023 from the U.S maintained, “The so-called senator, instead of holding the executive accountable, he is chiding the Ambassador who is holding them accountable for monies belonging to the public which is also a part of the money contributed by the U.S government.”
He expressed, “The legislators, including senators, are entitled to their salaries only; receiving extra cash for any other purpose is a fraud, using a legitimate process (budget) to steal public money under the guise of building public projects.
“He is a thief who deserves prosecution for acts of corruption which is evidenced by his admission of money he claims to have received that is used for “projects”. If a legislator implements projects, how does he oversight the Executive Branch?” he asked rhetorically.
Cllr. Verdier added, “To whom is he accountable? The U.S Ambassador is putting his mouth where The United States government Money is. The Senator is a predator on the treasury of the Republic of Liberia and there is no debate or justification about that.”
