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Tapes Showing Judicial Misconduct and $3 Million Bribery Scheme Proven Authentic

DATE: Tue, Mar. 2, 2010 POSTED IN: Chevron Ecuador Blog Posts

An independent expert working for Ecuador’s Judiciary Council has filed a report stating that the videotapes Chevron provided to the government of Ecuador and the U.S. Department of Justice are authentic and unaltered.

In late August of last year, it was revealed on video that Judge Juan Núñez, who was then presiding over the lawsuit against Chevron in Ecuador, had prejudged the case (even though evidence was still being submitted and final arguments had not been held) and may be involved in a $3 million bribery scheme.

The judge was willing to talk about his pending decision with businessmen (Hansen) seeking post-verdict remediation contracts. The following is a transcript of that conversation:

- Núñez: “Any other questions for me as a judge?”

- Hansen: “Oh no, I, I know clearly how it is, you say, Chevron is the guilty party?”

- Núñez: “Yes Sir.”

- Hansen: “And the, the, the act (decision) is October or November of this year?”

- Núñez: “Yes Sir.”

- Hansen: “And it’s …?”

- Núñez: “No later than January.”

- Hansen: “January 2010. And the money is twenty-seven (billion dollars)?”

- Núñez: “It might be less, and it might be more.”

After analyzing the videos from which this conversation was transcribed, the expert found that:

  1. The videos were authentic and showed no evidence whatsoever of any kind of manipulation.
  2. The videos were proven to a scientific certainty to contain the unaltered voices of purported government officials and others who participated in the meetings.

The expert report puts to rest the false claims that the plaintiffs’ lawyers and Judge Núñez himself have made in attempts to cover up this abuse of the judicial system. Judge Núñez insisted to the Wall Street Journal that he could “see things that have been erased” and that someone “cut and pasted certain things.”

In calling into question the authenticity of the video tapes, the plaintiffs’ representatives had also insisted that the tapes had been digitally altered.

The expert’s report further emphasizes the improper conduct on the part of Judge Núñez as well as individuals affiliated with Ecuador’s ruling political party. To date, Judge Núñez has not been sanctioned for his misconduct and his prior rulings in the Chevron lawsuit remain part of the record.

He’s back – Judge Núñez Reinstated to Preside over Chevron/Ecuador Case

DATE: Tue, Sep. 29, 2009 POSTED IN: Chevron Ecuador Blog Posts

9/29/09 Update – For the second time in a month, Judge Juan Núñez has been removed from the Lago Agrio trial. The Provincial Court of Justice of Sucumbios decided on Monday to accept the recusal of Núñez. Chevron is continuing to push for the annulment of the judge’s previous decisions, including rulings to facilitate, as well as shield from scrutiny, the biased Cabrera process.

From 9/24/09 - In yet another twist in the Chevron case in Ecuador, Judge Juan Núñez has been reinstated as the presiding Judge in the Lago Agrio court.

Just four days after Chevron released a series of videos that depicted serious judicial misconduct, Ecuadorian Judge Juan Núñez was asked by Ecuador’s Prosecutor General to recuse himself from presiding over the Chevron environmental lawsuit in Lago Agrio.

However, this past Tuesday, the Ecuadorian court announced that Judge Núñez would resume presiding over the Chevron case on the basis that he had failed to provide any evidence to support his recusal.  Meanwhile, the court has not ruled on the merits of Chevron’s petition for Judge Núñez to be removed from the case or the extensive evidence that Chevron provided of corruption, bias and prejudgment.

All along, Chevron has maintained that no judge who has participated in the type of meetings (shown here) could possibly have rendered a legitimate decision.  Through his past rulings, Judge Núñez has demonstrated a clear bias in this case as he has consistently shielded the corrupt Cabrera process from any sort of reasonable inquiry and scrutiny.  Judge Núñez has also made multiple prejudicial public statements clearly indicating that he lacks objectivity, is biased, and has prejudged the case.  Now, with the release of the evidence that Judge Núñez was involved in inappropriate meetings connected to a bribery plot, there is further proof that he has prejudged the case.

The U.S. State Department, in its Investment Climate Statement on Ecuador released in February 2009, has found that Ecuador’s “courts are often susceptible to outside pressure and bribes. Neither Congressional oversight nor internal judicial branch mechanisms have shown a consistent capacity to effectively investigate and discipline allegedly corrupt judges.”

Should Judge Núñez continue to preside over the case, it would further validate the State Department’s findings and reinforce that the rule of law in Ecuador has been compromised.