The Governor of the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands has been charged with several criminal counts alleging misconduct, theft and contempt.

CNMI Gov. Ralph Torres. Courtesy: CNMI Office of Governor

CNMI’s Office of the Attorney General filed the criminal charges against Gov. Ralph Torres on Friday, including 12 counts of misconduct in public office, one count of theft and one count of contempt for failure to appear in compliance with a subpoena.

The charges revolve around the events that led to the House of Representatives impeachment of Torres on Jan. 12, including first- and business-class travel with public funds between April 2018 and May 2019.

The single count of contempt relates to Torres’ failure to appear before the House Judiciary and Governmental Operations Committee, which eventually filed the charges of impeachment.

CNMI’s predominantly Republican Senate has not yet scheduled its impeachment trial.

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