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Saipan - Ruling that he doesn’t find any justifiable excuse for Attorney General Edward Buckingham not appearing in court this morning, Superior Court Associate Judge David Wiseman issued a bench warrant for the AG’s arrest and imposed a $50,000 cash bail for Buckingham.

Wiseman, in a breaking news from the Saipan Tribune, said assistant attorney general Gil Birnbrich, who appeared as counsel for Buckingham, has no lawful authority to represent a criminal defendant.

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OPA filed on Friday criminal charges against Buckingham in connection with the AG’s approval of a $400,000 sole-source ARRA management contract award in October 2010 to Michael Ada within days of Ada stepping down as Commerce secretary.

He is also being charged by OPA for allegedly hosting a delegate candidate’s party at Gov. Benigno Fitial’s house in August 2010.

Buckingham, who rescinded his resignation Sunday after charges were brought against him by OPA, was served with the penal summons at the airport shortly after he and his wife left Saipan on a 6am Delta flight to Narita, Japan on Saturday.

KSPN 2 reporter Tina Sablan and concerned citizen Glen Hunter wrote on social media that Buckingham and his wife were escorted around 3:30am at the airport by DPS deputy commissioner Ambrosio Ogumoro and six to eight other DPS police officers who used marked and unmarked vehicles.

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