PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (Trinidad Express) – Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar last night declared victory following the Integrity Commission’s termination of its investigation into emailgate.

She added this vindication was proof Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley was unfit to lead Trinidad and Tobago.

In a letter dated May 19, 2015, the Commission’s registrar Martin Farrell wrote to the Prime Minister’s attorney, Israel Khan, SC, stating that pursuant to Section 34 (6) of the act, the commission was “satisfied that there was no or insufficient grounds for continuing the investigation” into emailgate “and accordingly this investigation is hereby terminated”.

Khan is the legal counsel for Persad-Bissessar and former attorney general Anand Ramlogan in the emailgate affair.

In its letter to Khan, the Integrity Commission pointed out it was unable to disclose information pertaining to its investigation, cited Section 35 of the Integrity in Public Life Act.

Two-year anniversary today

Coincidentally, today marks exactly two years since Rowley went to the Parliament on May 20, 2013, and dropped the emailgate bombshell while piloting a motion of no confidence in the Prime Minister.

Rowley had disclosed the contents of 31 alleged e-mails purporting to be exchanges between Persad-Bissessar, Ramlogan, former minister of local government Surujrattan Rambachan and then-national security adviser to the Prime Minister Gary Griffith.

The e-mails alleged these high office holders were conspiring to harm a journalist, plant electronic spying devices in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, offer the DPP a judgeship, and accept payment from an unnamed woman in exchange for the freedom of individuals involved in the Section 34 fiasco in September 2012.

Persad-Bissessar immediately took the matter to the police and the Integrity Commission launched its own investigation into the allegations.

The termination of the Integrity Commission’s probe into emailgate comes on the heels of Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Joan Honore-Paul’s release stating the Prime Minister and former attorney general were not cleared, as the police’s and the Integrity Commission’s investigations were ongoing.

Persad-Bissessar has said her lawyers have advised that Honore-Paul should step aside as she was biased, and a complaint would be made against her to the Judicial and Legal Services Commission.

In a release last night, Persad-Bissessar disclosed the contents of the Integrity Commission’s letter to Khan, stating: “This is a major victory for the Office of the Prime Minister and the sovereignty of the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago. I am pleased the finding of the Integrity Commission has vindicated me. Of course I always knew that I had acted appropriately.”

She said the population should question Rowley’s conduct.

“Now we can move on to the real issue here. That is the Opposition Leader’s arrogant actions in misleading the Parliament and impugning members of the Government,” she said.

She added: “If he will do this to the Office of the Prime Minister, what would he do to those less able to defend themselves? If elected, whom would he bully and harass?” she asked.

“Now that the Integrity Commission has pronounced and concluded their investigations, the country must move on to the real issues facing us and resolve to deal with the challenges that face us at this time. The Opposition Leader’s leadership is again called into question and once again it shows that he is unfit to lead our country,” she added.

Saying she felt humbled by the Integrity Commission’s ruling, the Prime Minister added: “I thank all those citizens for their deep concern and support during what has been a sordid period.”

Police probe continues

The Prime Minister has repeatedly called on the police probing the issue to speed up their investigations and clear her name, especially as it related to an allegation of conspiracy to murder.

Lawyers representing the Prime Minister as well as the Integrity Commission turned to Google Inc for answers, and filed court petitions demanding the release of the e-mail exchanges for the period the e-mails were purported to have been exchanged.

The Integrity Commission retained the services of a top American attorney Gina Durham, partner co-chair US Social Media Practice at DLA Piper law firm, who had filed a subpoena in the US Federal Court, ordering Google to provide information to aid in the ¬investigation.

Google had released information to both Persad-Bissessar’s US attorney, Jack Russo, and the Integrity Commission. Google provided information for all e-mails exchanged between the Prime Minister and Ramlogan for the period September 1, 2013, to September 30, 2013, stating there was no match to the e-mails which were presented by Rowley, according to Russo.

The Prime Minister had also disclosed a report by John Berryhill-a former officer in the US Air Force Reserve Office of Special Investiga¬tions-who said he found the e-mails were bogus.

In addition, a letter from the United States Justice Department, which was sent at the request by this country’s Central Authority, indicated one of the e-mail addresses in the alleged exchanges-anan@gmail.com-was fake.