If comedienne Rachel Price didn’t get the pre-action protocol letter sent by the President’s attorneys, a second letter will be sent, sources said yesterday.
Price didn’t answer cell calls yesterday about whether she had received the letter which was sent by attorneys on October 17.
On Wednesday the Office of the President issued a statement saying it had sought and obtained the advice of Senior Counsel on certain “offensive statements recently made by a radio talk show host.”
A pre-action protocol letter was sent by attorneys on behalf of Mrs Carmona and the Office of the President on the alleged statements.
These are thought to have been comments Price made in connection with an outfit which Reema Carmona, the President’s wife, wore at a recent UN function where she spoke at a session on Fashion for Development. She was also interviewed by Allure Magazine during the assignments.
Price’s Twitter account hasn’t said whether she has received the letter yet.
An October 21 tweet, however, alluded to “Carmona,” saying: “Looking for fire I walking with gas. Senility hitting Carmona? I heading to the dry cleaners, time to bring out mih (deleted) court clothes.”
Sources explained the legal letter was taken to Price’s east Trinidad home and received by a female family member. The latter, however, was told not to accept it and it was subsequently left with the housing compound’s security guards, sources said.
Contacted yesterday, a legal source said a second letter would be sent, adding that there are many ways of ensuring a party received such a letter.
Queries on who the President’s lawyer is, whether the State is paying his or her fees and whether the President had a legal adviser didn’t get an immediate response yesterday from President’s House communications officer Theron Boodan.
On whether the President's office can sue over comments about his wife, Reggie Armour, SC, said he was not prepared to comment and Douglas Mendes, SC, said he preferred not to. Israel Khan’s office did not reply nor did former public service head Reggie Dumas.
The President’s Office has said while it respected and valued the constitutional right of every individual to freedom of expression and the principles of fair comments and freedom of the press remained sacrosanct, freedom of expression was not a licence to defame.
The statement said unwarranted attacks which crossed the line into defamation and sought to bring members of the family of the President, and by extension the Office of the President, into disrepute would not be tolerated.
At a UWI graduation function on Wednesday, the President complained about what he described as the lack of depth of broadcast comment, cyberbullying and social media abuse in T&T.
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President’s House subsequently issued a statement that the President and Mrs Carmona “have engaged in a private and confidential relationship with Senior Counsel concerning matters that have arisen recently in the public domain.
“Their Excellencies have been advised by Senior Counsel not to disclose the nature and content of those discussions emanating thereof. The action of their Excellencies will be guided by Senior Counsel’s advice on said matters,” it added.