OPINION: Is Cummings Sinking After Finding The Smoking Gun?

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PHOTO: Opposition ANC leader, Alexander B. Cummings

By Hun-Bu Tulay

           The Author

The term “Smoking Gun” is widely used to mean a discovered piece of evidence or fact that proves a theory or point. In law, the term is most often used to describe a piece of circumstantial evidence that will lead to a person’s conviction. The term arose from a time where smoke coming from a gun meant the gun had recently been shot. If someone’s gun was smoking, that would be considered strong evidence of their shooting at something recently. Smoking guns is a clear piece of evidence.

A smoking gun almost always proves clearly that a particular person is guilty of something. Smoking gun is a reference to an object or fact that serves as conclusive evidence of a crime or similar act just short of being caught in doing. It is the strongest kind of circumstantial evidence as opposed to direct evidence.

In the United States of America, President Richard Nixon’s Watergate investigation, the White House’s Tapes were the Smoking Gun. When the President realized that the court would issue a subpoena for the White House to produce the tapes, President Nixon resigned.

The Genesis of the Case Republic of Liberia vs. Alexander B. Cummings and Others

It appeals to reason to provide the genesis of this case because many Liberians have faded memories and are often confused with facts and fallacies. Sometime in 2019, four political parties in Liberia consulted and agreed to form an alliance of political parties to be styled and named as “Collaborating Political Parties”. A seventeen-man committee was constituted to draft the framework document for the collaboration. The draft was finalized on February 25, 2020 and presented to the political leaders at the Farmington Hotel. The Framework Document of the Collaborating Political Party was signed on May 19, 2020, and sections below from 10.10 to 10. 10.1 and sections 10.11 – 10.11.10 caused PUBLIC UPROAR in the country. Below are the sections for your reading.

Section 10.10: The Executive-Presidential Appointments

Section 10.10.1: Categories of Positions

• Cabinet level roles: Ministers, Heads of Autonomous Agencies, Public Corporation, State-owned Enterprises, Regulatory Authorities and Commissions (including commissioners of Board of Commissioners) and Heads of Military and Para-military institutions.
• Junior Cabinet level roles: Deputy Ministers, Deputy Heads of Autonomous Agencies, and State-owned Enterprises, Ambassadors and Deputy Heads of Military and Para-Military Institutions.
• Technical levels: Assistant Ministers, Directors (where applicable) and Administrators appointed by the President.

• Local Government Administrations: Mayor of the City of Monrovia, Superintendents, Assistant Superintendents and County Inspectors.
• Local Government Administration: Mayors, Statutory District Officials, Administrative District Commissioners, Paramount Chief, Clan Chiefs, Zone Chiefs, General Town Chiefs, Town Chiefs. 

Section 10.11: Guidelines for Presidential Appointments-Executive Branch of Government

Section 10.11.1

All constituent political parties shall be represented in the Cabinet. Cabinet positions shall be allocated amongst the constituent political parties and all other qualified Liberians whether they are members of the Alliance.

Section 10.11.2

Constituent Political Parties shall recommend qualified Members for appointment to Cabinet, junior cabinet, technical level positions, local government administration subject to all applicable laws.

Section 10.11.3

Only known, active and visible members of Constituent Political Parties shall be recommended by the parties.

Section 10.11.4

Constituent political Parties shall recommend members in the counties for local government positions. Only known, active and visible members in the county shall be recommended by the parties for local government positions.

Section 10.11.5

For the purposes of this framework, each Constituent Political Party shall define full make-up of its national executive committee.

Section 10.11.6

For the purposes of this framework, each Constituent Political Party shall define full make-up of its county executive committee.

Section 10.11.7

Recommendations from the parties for local government positions shall be made by the County executive committee of each Constituent Political Party to its national executive committee.

Section 10.11.8

Recommendations from the constituent political parties shall be made by the executive committee of that party.

Section 10.11.9

All recommendations from the Constituent Political Parties shall be submitted to the Decision-Making Body of the Alliance which shall ensure compliance with this framework.

Section 10.11.10

When the head of a ministry, Agency, Commission, Authority County, or District is appointed from one party all deputy heads positions shall be filled by recommendations from other constituent Political Parties. Positions shall be distributed according to the methods and procedures set up pursuant to Section B (3).  

Immediately, the political leaders met, constituted, and commissioned a team of lawyers to review the May 19, 2020, signed document and advice or make recommendations. The lawyers did the review, and several recommendations were made. It is alleged that ten recommendations were made on separate sheets to the Political Leaders. These recommendations were not inserted in the document by the lawyers. ANC, now chairing the Secretarial of the CPP had the responsibility to finalize the document for signature. According to Cummings and his lawyers, the signing was done on Zoom because of the COVD-19 pandemic. However, they cannot give the date of the Zoom signing. When was it signed? Step five below, clearly states that the date of e-signing must be on the document. Secondly is there a CERTIFICATE of signing? This certificate of signing should have been attached to the document sent to NEC.  According to other members of the collaborating political parties, Moi Ali physically carried the final copy (five copies) around to the individual political party leaders for their signatures. Moi Ali’s statement contradicts Cummings statement (Zoom Signing) in respect of how the May 19, 2020, Framework Document was signed. But what is interesting is that both parties, Cummings, and others, alleged that the document was signed on Zoom and the others said it was taken to the political party leaders for signing. What is constant is the Framework Document was signed on May 19, 2020, be it Zoom or in person. Let us assume it was signed on Zoom, but does it meet the legal requirements for Zoom Signing or electronic signing stated below on the steps, can copies be printed out after signing on zoom? The answer is yes. And who should have done this? We believe the Chairman of the Collaborating Political Parties (Alexander B. Cummings)/the Secretariat of the CPP at the time, ANC should have printed copies. Here, we ask, ‘Was the ANC Political Leader truthful when he said that the original copy of the May 19, 2020, framework document does not exist?’ Did Cummings print and submit the Zoom signed copy to the NEC? If the answer is YES, why did he not print copies for the leaders of the other three parties?

Madam Wadli Powl of the Liberty Party has said over and over that the original copy of the May 19, 2020, Framework Document of the Collaborating Political Parties was revised/amended based on the lawyers’ recommendations after they reviewed the original copy.  On T-Max Jlateh’s   Show 50/50, Alexander B. Cummings, the ANC Political Leader said there were changes to the May 19, 2020, Framework Document, but those changes do not benefit him. The question is why did he tell Judge Jallah in Court that the original copy did not exist? How can changes be made to a document that does not exist? Even Madam Victoria Koiquah, the Vice Chair for Political and International Affairs for the Alternative National Congress (ANC) who appeared on the Spoon Show on May 13, 2022, was very persuasive and informative. She admitted that there were changes made to the May 19,2020 Framework Document, but those changes were discussed and approved by the political leaders in the CPP Chartroom. Does this contradict Alexander B. Cummings statement in Court, “There is NO Original Copy of the May 19, 2020, Framework Document”?  Madam Powl from Liberty Party and Madam Koiquah both said that the original copy of the May 19, 2020, Framework Document was revised/amended.  Former Vice President also said in court that the May 19, 2020, document was amended. Let us agree for once that the changes were accepted by the four political leaders in the CPP Chartroom. But the question remains, after the document was finalized, was it circulated for review and signing by the parties concerned? How did the signatures of the three other political leaders get on the amended May 19, 2020, Framework Document that was submitted to the NEC? If the Framework Document submitted by the ANC Political Leader was not circulated and signed personally by the other three political party leaders, this puts the ANC Political Leader in a mortified situation. The Liberian people want to know how the signatures of the other political party leaders got on the document Cummings submitted to the NEC? This is the Smoking Gun.

Is Zoom Signing Legally Binding in Liberia?

Zoom Signing is the same as e-signature or electronic signing. There are three levels in e-signing. They are Simple, Advanced and Qualified Signatures. They differ primarily in their legal security. A simple or general signature solely contains an unqualified name such as email signature. In case of advanced and Qualified, the signatory is defined before a document execution. For Qualified electronic signature, the signature is further linked with a certificate that provides the same validity as for a handwritten signature. After e-signing, the certificate is printed and attached to the printed copy.

For electronic signing to be LEGALLY BINDING, there are six steps that should be met initially.

Step One

1. Intent to sign & opt-out clause
2. Consent to do business electronically
3. Clear signature attribution
4. Association of signature with record
5. Record retention.

Step Two

To qualify as an electronic signature, there must be evidence of the signer’s intent to execute or accept the agreement. This is accomplished by requiring the signer to take affirmative action, like typing their names or drawing their signature their signatures using mouse or touch screen

Step Three

The document must be sent to the signers before the Zoom Meeting, before opening the document in E-signature App when in the meeting

Step Four

The Legislature of the country must pass an Act for Electronic Signature before it can be legally binding

Step Five

Electronic Signature must contain date and timestamps and include a printed statement followed by the name and preferably a professional designation. The e-signature line includes the author e-signature, full name credentials, date, and the e-signing.

Step Six

A printed copy is given to all e-signees.

Alexander B. Cummings claimed that the document was signed via Zoom. Granted, were the six requirements, which needed to be met to make it legal and binding? We know that two were not met (The legislature has not passed an E-signature Act in Liberia and three signatories to the framework Document did not get a printed copy each, which is a requirement.)

Notary Public Officer

The Notary Public Office that issued the Notary Certificate is in the best position to provide evidence or to say whether the document to the NEC is the document that the certificate was issued for. This person needs to tell the court, public and the world whether they notarized an ORIGINAL COPY or a PHOTOCOPY.

Conspiracy Theory

In leadership there is one word that is most important; and that word is TRUST. In any organization or collaboration, trust must be developed among team members if they must succeed in their collective endeavors. With all that is happening, can we say that there are Brutuses in the Collaborating Political Parties? Is there a conspiracy between some members of the Collaborating Political Parties, the National Elections Commission, and others? The available evidence suggests that there might be, for the following reasons:

1. Why did the National Elections Commission accept the Framework Document since it was submitted under the signature of Hon. Daniel Naathen knowing full well that he was not the Chairman of the Collaborating Political Parties at the time, but notwithstanding signing the cover letter as Chairman of the Collaborating Political Parties?
2. Based on information the NEC provided, the Framework Document was received by the NEC on July 10, 2020, but the document Notary Certificate is dated July 14, meaning that the document was notarized July 14, 2020. Was the document received and then recalled four days later by the ANC for notarization?  If the answer to this question is in the affirmative, then how was it withdrawn? Is there an official communication to the NEC requesting the withdrawal? And if so, was there an official written communication to the NEC re-submitting the document?  The NEC has not produced any evidence to indicate that the document was redrawn and resubmitted. From the NEC record, it is a known fact that the ANC got the document from the NEC after it was filed. How long did the ANC keep the document before returning it? One month or three months or more? Did the ANC keep the document long to make other changes before returning it?  And when the document was returned by the ANC, did the NEC check to make sure it was the same document that was returned without alteration? These are the questions the Liberian People want answers for right now.
3. How was the Framework Document notarized? Did the Political Leaders, who are signatures to the document appear in person before the Notary Public to take a Solemn Oath or affirmation that they signed said Framework Document? Or did they sign an Affidavit before the Notary Public?  No evidence has been provided to indicate that any of this was done.
4. Madam Victoria Koiquah informed Liberians and the world on the Spoon Talk Show that when the exit clause was inserted, one of the ANC’s lawyers advised Cummings and others in the ANC not to sign the amended copy of the May 19, 2020, Framework Document that included the exit clause. She said, “I lacked the door and said nobody leaves until the document is signed.”.
5. Is Musa Hassan Bility’s Fraction of Liberty Party part of the conspiracy, because according to Wadli Powl an Executive of the Liberty Party, she is aware of the amendment to the May 19, 2020, Framework Document, meaning the addition of the Exit Clause.
6. Is Cummings part of the conspiracy? The fact that Cummings did not share or distribute copies of the Framework Document he submitted to NEC with the other three political leaders speaks volume.

Who is the prime conspirator?  Would it be Daniel Naatehn, and/or Cllr. Alloysius Toe, Victoria Koiquah, Musa Hassan Bility, NEC and Alexander B. Cummings?

Who is advising the ANC Leader?

In life, not everyone who smiles with you loves and supports you. Many years ago, a cousin of mine, who was a very influential/political heavyweight from the 1960s to 2003, served four Presidents (Tubman, Tolbert, Doe, and Taylor), once said to me, “In politics, the right hand must never know what the left hand is doing”. There may be some within the Collaborating Political Parties who may not want either Boakai or Cummings to be President of Liberia but pretend that they are helping them by encouraging them to go against each other. The ALP Political leader may have realized this possibility and tried to warn Cummings.  According to the ALP Political Leader, at one time he met with Cummings, and they agreed that Cummings will accept the vice standard bearer position in the CPP on condition that Boakai will retire after serving four years.  This was before the lawsuit. It seems when Cummings met with his advisors on the issue, he was advised to reject the offer, and so he did.

Apparently, these advisors also advised Cummings not to admit to tampering with the Framework Document, something he eventually did recently, arguing that the tempering was harmless. It has been alleged that clause 8.5.2 which reads “If a party withdraws that party will not feed candidates(s) until six months after the 2023 General Elections.” was not in the original Framework Document but those who inserted the clause assured Cummings that they would do anything and everything for him to head the CCP ticket.

All the above points to the existence of a conspiracy to prevent some people from participating in the 2023 elections. Breaking up the CPP may just be the first step. These conspirators are likely to instigate confusion within individual political parties or political groupings that have potential presidential winners.

Bility Offers Peace Pipe-Charts, Road Map to End CPP Crisis

Musa Hasan Bility, the erstwhile Chairman of the Liberty Party was a guest on ELBC recently. He said among other things that he has a plan to end the crisis in the CCP and that he had already completed a meeting with Cummings and Urey. His plans include the following:

1. UP should drop the case against Cummings.
2. If this happens, the LP will redraw the case filed against the UP at NEC.

First, UP has no case against Cummings in court. Therefore, his first condition does not make sense. Bility is fully aware that it was the ALP that filed the case. While is he playing debtoubt?

Reference the second condition, the case is no longer with the NEC, he knows that. And Cummings should equally know that. Why should Cummings allow people to mislead him?

In fact, has Bility developed a Roadmap to resolve the crisis in his party? If you cannot solve your own in-house small problem, how can you help to solve the CPP Problem?

The question is why now? Is it because the tide is turning, after the Chairman of the Election Commission produced in the court the Framework Document that was filed by the ANC/Cummings? Because Cummings has always maintained that the Framework Document does not exist. By the way, Cllr. Abraham Sillah the lead counsellor for Cummings has not been seen in court for the past two weeks. Is it because Cummings lied to him by saying that the Framework Document does not exist?

Who Is Responsible for The Crisis in the CPP?

1. It was Cummings, who said he will not recognize Joseph Nyumah Boakai as the political leader of Unity Party because he was not elected democratically.
2. It was Cummings, who honored an invitation from Bility to host his arrival ceremony at LP Headquarters against the advice and consent of the LP Political Leader.
3. It was Cummings, who refused to shared copy of the Framework Document submitted to the NEC with the other political leader.
4. It was Cummings that stopped attending CPP Political Party Leaders’ Meetings.
5. It was Cummings, who said the CCP Framework Document does not exist.

And in all these actions of Cummings, he was supported by Musa Hassan Bility. Cummings was used by Bility to achieve his (Musa Hassan Bility) Agenda.

Was The CPP Framework Document Tampered With?

The chairmanship of the CPP was turned over to the ANC by ALP Political Leader, Mr. Urey thereby making Cummings the chairman of the CPP.  It was during his chairmanship that the Framework Document was filed to the NEC. Cummings said on 50/50 Radio Talk Show in respond to a question “Were changes to the Framework Document after signing by all parties before submission to the NEC. Cummings response “The changes does not benefit me.” Here Cummings directly admitted to changes referred to by Urey. Other ANC members made statements such cosmetics changes or harmless changes. All such statements are admission to changes in the document. Recently some members are saying that the changes were inserted after a secret meeting by people who wanted to framed Cummings. Are they saying that the changes were made before the document was given to the ANC for filing? If this is the case, it implies that Cummings did not read the document before signing. This statement cannot sell because if cosmetics changes or harmless changes were made, it implies that the document was proofread by Cummings and his team. Stop all this falsehood and find something convincing to say to the Liberian People.

Can Forensic Analysis of The Document Protect Cummings?

Recently Cummings announced that he was hiring an international forensic expert to review the Framework Document.  The question is, will the forensic analysis show that the document was not tampered with? Even, if an “a” was changed to “the”, it implies the document was tampered with because this change was done after it was signed by the parties. An example is the ongoing dispute about the Liberty Party’s Constitution. The Chairman and the Secretary General rearranged the following phase, “The Political Leader in consultation with the Executive Committee” in the constitution adapted at the convention in Gbarnga to read: “the Chairman in consultation with the Executive Committee”. Some members of ANC have acknowledged that the document was edited after it was signed and that the edited copy was not shared with the other political leaders of the CPP.

If the conspirators failed in breaking up political parties and collaborations, they will resort to 1955. In the Book “THE PLOT THAT FAILED”, published by the Liberian Information Service, Tubman planned a fake assassination attempt and many opposition leaders were arrested, and S. David Coleman and his son, John Coleman were killed and paraded at the Barclay Training Center for few days. After 1955, the opposition went silence for sixteen years. Liberians, be mindful of these conspirators. They are willing to destroy the whole country to achieve their objective just as was done before in 1989 in Liberia.

FINALLY, WHY SHOULD UREY, LAWRENCE AND BOAKAI TRUST BILITY CONSIDERING ALL THAT HE HAD SAID AND DONE?