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Jack Warner - FORMER Fifa vice-president Jack Warner is calling for an end to what he described as a decade-long witch-hunt by political rivals in an attempt to extradite him to the United States.
The fate of Warner’s extradition challenge now rests with Attorney General John Jeremie, SC, who has launched an investigation into the actions of those involved – including past attorneys general –in the former FIFA jefe’s extradition on multiple corruption-related charges.
Jeremie’s investigation, which has already started, was disclosed by British attorney Robert Strang on August 5. Strang, who now leads the State’s team for the Office of the Attorney General, requested an adjournment of Warner’s latest extradition challenge currently being heard by Justice Karen Reid.
Strang explained that key individuals have been asked to respond to the findings of former Chief Magistrate Maria Busby Earle-Caddle in her June 2023 ruling on Warner’s latest request to challenge his extradition in the High Court.
“Some have given a first response, and in the interest of fairness, everything would have to be tested against the electronic and documentary evidence,” he said.
Reid was expected to begin hearing submissions in Warner’s challenge before the adjournment was requested.
Meanwhile, Warner says Jeremie’s decision to “get to the bottom of the wrongs” committed against him by his predecessors is a “turning point for justice in Trinidad and Tobago.”
Warner, a former government minister under the People’s Partnership administration, who resigned as National Security Minister in April 2013, declared he has suffered “ten long, hard years” of persecution and political victimisation at the hands of officeholders “who knew better.”
In an interview with Newsday after news that Jeremie has launched an investigation into the extradition case, Warner welcomed the probe and said he was confident it would expose misconduct by past attorneys general and senior legal officers.
“I marvelled this morning,” Warner said. “I am happy that the present AG, John Jeremie, will get to the bottom of the wrongs that were committed against me by his predecessors. This issue goes to the administration of justice and the rule of law in this country.”
Warner, who was indicted in the United States in 2015 on multiple charges related to racketeering, fraud, and money laundering, maintained that the extradition process was corrupted by false representations made to various courts, including the High Court, the Court of Appeal, and the Privy Council.
“In the fullness of time, all of these matters will be exposed.”
“For ten years, I have been pilloried in this country. I have been persecuted, I have been oppressed, and my character has been dragged through the mud,” Warner said. “And I am saying that I have been persecuted by officers who knew better and who should have behaved differently, particularly in treating me as a citizen of this country, and for the kind of work I have done.”
Warner: I’ve lost everything
He credited then-Chief Magistrate Maria Busby Earle-Caddle, now a High Court judge, for her critical examination of the State’s conduct during a 2023 ruling. “She was able to look at the matter objectively,” he said. “I hope those who perpetrated these illegal acts bear full responsibility.”
Warner said his legal ordeal was symbolic of wider issues in the justice system, saying, “This is not about Jack Warner. It’s about the poor man who doesn’t have the means to fight for justice. If this could happen to me, it could happen to the poor man in more ways than one.”
When asked if he believed his prosecution was politically motivated, Warner did not hesitate: “It was nothing more, nothing less. Political victimisation at the highest.”
He reflected on the personal toll of the decade-long legal battle, citing sleepless nights, public ridicule, and reputational loss. “I’ve lost everything in terms of my name and reputation. It is hurtful. It is painful,” he said.
“It’s been ten years, ten long, hard years, and to know ten years later, I have been a victim of this kind of abuse. It is hurtful, it is painful.”
‘Colossal misrepresentation’
Earle-Caddle had ruled that Warner’s case raised seven legitimate legal questions stemming from an alleged 2015 extradition arrangement between the US and Trinidad and Tobago. She criticised the State, citing inconsistencies and what she described as a “colossal misrepresentation” involving the former attorney general’s certification of that arrangement.
Attorney General John Jeremie, SC, speaks in Parliament in Port of Spain on July 28. - Photo by Ayanna Kinsale
Warner’s challenge centres on the “speciality principle,” which bars prosecution for any offences not listed in an approved extradition request. Warner argued that the absence of a written agreement – required by law –renders the 2015 authority to proceed invalid. The former chief magistrate questioned how then-Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi could certify an agreement that appears not to exist in writing. A Freedom of Information request by Warner failed to uncover a copy of the agreement, prompting Earle-Caddle to ask, “How does one certify something that is possibly non-existent?” She referred the matter to the High Court for urgent review, emphasising that extradition involves the deprivation of liberty and must adhere strictly to legal safeguards. She also postponed Warner’s extradition hearing to allow the High Court to rule.
Strang said the current AG had decided to “scrutinise and reassess” the State’s approach to the matter so far and had “taken the view that it’s necessary to investigate properly the allegations that have been made, because a number of serious allegations have been made against the Attorney General’s office and his predecessors in office.”
Quoting some of Earle-Caddle’s findings, Strang said they suggested the AG’s office engaged in surreptitious conduct in trying to persuade the court that there was no case to answer.
Jeremie is also reportedly concerned that the Court of Appeal and the Privy Council may have decided the matter based on an “incorrect understanding of the nature of the arrangement that had been certified.” Warner’s legal team, led by Senior Counsel Fyard Hosein, contends that the State’s actions amounted to dishonesty, fabrication and fraud by deliberately misrepresenting that a “written, bespoke” arrangement between the US and Trinidad and Tobago existed.
Strang said it was for this reason that the AG initiated an investigation.
“He has conducted searches of his office’s files and asked key individuals for their accounts,” Strang said.
“And may I add, my lady, he considers it very important in the public interest that he respond to these allegations properly and that they be properly ventilated on the evidence and with the accounts of those concerned.
“Because they call into question the standing of the Office of the Attorney General, and they damage the public’s confidence in the administration of justice, not to mention potentially having wider ramifications on future extraditions to the United States of America.
“So the Attorney General takes the view in the circumstances that it is of the greatest importance. The AG is keen and willing to conclude as quickly as reasonably and fairly practicable. He also agrees with the gravamen and seriousness of the allegations made.”
Apology to Warner
Strang apologised to Warner “for the fact that the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council was not allowed to make a determination of his case on a correct understanding of the facts.
“Now, whether that was done dishonestly or improperly on the part of the Office of the Attorney General is a matter for further investigation by the present occupant of the AG’s office.”
Hosein lamented that, for over a decade, the State had misled the courts while Warner was made to pay the “ultimate penalty.”
“This has to stop here. And if this case has to mark a line in the sand on executive misbehaviour and administrative misbehaviour by the State, let it be so,” he said. “Gaslighting is taking place.”
Hosein did not object to the adjournment and commended Jeremie for his stance, while also seeking an undertaking that “all the lawyers, public officials, (and) the two previous attorneys general who handled this matter” would be interrogated and that full disclosure would be made to the court.
“This thing cannot end here. It would probably end up in a report to the police service and the bar association.”
Warner’s new constitutional challenge came nearly eight years after he was indicted in the US on 29 charges of fraud, corruption, and money laundering during his tenure as vice president of FIFA, the world governing body for football.
In her ruling, Earle-Caddle said the written agreement was a precondition to the authority to proceed, and in the absence of one, there appeared to be a “colossal misrepresentation” by the team representing the State. This, she said, must be examined and, if true, condemned.
She said the adducing of false representations by an executive arm of the State that had “the proclivity to breach the fundamental rights of our citizens can be likened to abuse and needs to be interrogated by the High Court not only for the benefit of the octogenarian or politically-sensitive person but the benefit of all citizens regardless of economic and social status, colour, creed, race or sporting interest.”
She also said, “An attorney general was expected to come to the court with clean hands to ensure that the legal process was not compromised and to maintain the public trust and confidence in the legal system.
“The questions raised will be referred to the High Court forthwith,” she ruled as she adjourned the extradition proceedings. In March 2023, Warner – who has been banned for life by FIFA – raised a “speciality argument” under Section 14(4) of the Constitution, alleging inconsistencies in the charges he faces in the US.
Warner’s application to have the chief magistrate refer his questions to the High Court was filed soon after the Privy Council ruled on a previous challenge he had brought. On November 17, 2022, the Privy Council cleared the way for extradition proceedings to continue, finding that the US extradition request was not unfair. Warner had challenged the process and sought to quash the magistrate’s authority to proceed with the hearing.
The US requested Warner’s extradition on July 24, 2015, two months after a provisional warrant was issued. He surrendered to police and requested disclosure of materials related to the authority to proceed (ATP), which was denied.
Warner was allowed to make representations as to whether the ATP should be issued, but only on the condition that he agreed to extend the deadline for its issuance. He refused. The magistrate later extended the deadline. In a 2024 radio interview, Warner expressed confidence that the US case against him was over, citing a 2024 US Supreme Court ruling. That decision limited the reach of laws used in the FIFA corruption case, prompting a federal judge to overturn the convictions of two defendants.
Warner has also filed legal action seeking details of attorney fees paid by the State during the extradition proceedings. Justice Reid is also presiding over that matter.
Shortly after the chief magistrate’s ruling, then–Attorney General Reginald Armour, SC, expressed concern over her findings, saying they “disturbed” him. He questioned the legal basis of her conclusions, asserting that Warner’s affidavit was the only evidence before the court. He said Earle-Caddle’s only task was to determine whether Warner’s questions merited consideration by the High Court, which she could only deny if they were deemed frivolous or vexatious.
In granting the adjournment, Justice Reid noted the present AG had committed to giving an explanation to matters articulated, and she was prepared to receive that evidence. She gave the State until September 5 to provide its evidence on the speciality certificate issued on September 21, 2015, and any written arrangement, including the “bespoke written arrangement,” before adjourning the matter to October 3 when the new trial will take place.
Warner, 81, remains on $2.5 million continuing bail.
He and 13 other FIFA officials were indicted in the US. Warner was also head of Concacaf.
In the US charge sheet against him, Warner is accused of racketeering, wire fraud, money laundering, and bribery; and allegedly, from the early 1990s, he “began to leverage his influence and exploit his official positions for personal gain.”
The US indictment also accused him of accepting a bribe from South African officials in exchange for his vote to award them the 2010 World Cup and of distributing envelopes of cash to other officials. He was permanently banned from FIFA activities following the signing of the authority to proceed.
Also representing Warner are Rishi Dass, SC, Sasha Bridgemohansingh, Anil Maraj and Aadam Hosein.
Former AG Faris Al-Rawi did not respond to a request for a comment on the initiation of a probe by Jeremie.
English (US) ·