Holness to meet Wheatley after Cabinet over troubling IC report

Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced he will meet with Minister of Science, Technology and Special Projects Dr. Andrew Wheatley after Monday's cabinet meeting to address a "troubling investigation report" from the Integrity Commission (IC). The report concluded that Wheatley illicitly enriched himself and recommended he face charges for illicit enrichment, false declarations, and failure to provide information.

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The challenge of course is that no charge has yet been proffered on him so until that point we will observe the situation.

The IC's findings indicate Wheatley possessed assets totaling approximately $164 million, which are disproportionate to his lawful earnings, and he failed to offer a satisfactory explanation for this discrepancy. The report was tabled in Parliament last Wednesday, prompting calls for Wheatley's removal from the Cabinet.

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Today I’m going to leave here, (the interview) run back to Cabinet, I expect to see Minister Wheatley there and we will have a fulsome discussion with him directly on the report and what to expect in the future.

However, Dr. Wheatley has vehemently rejected the IC's findings, labeling them as "baseless." He asserts that all his assets were acquired lawfully and accuses investigators of disregarding evidence that he believes would have altered the probe's outcome. He specifically pointed to "ignored" real estate earnings.

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According to the IC, Wheatley possessed assets disproportionate to his lawful earnings, amounting to approximately $164 million, and failed to provide a satisfactory explanation for the discrepancy.

Prime Minister Holness acknowledged the gravity of the IC's recommended charges during an interview on Nationwide Radio. He stated that while no charges have been officially proffered yet, the situation is being observed. "Today I’m going to leave here, (the interview) run back to Cabinet, I expect to see Minister Wheatley there and we will have a fulsome discussion with him directly on the report and what to expect in the future," Holness said, indicating a direct confrontation of the issue with the minister.

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However, Wheatley has rejected the findings as baseless and insists that every dollar and asset he owns was lawfully acquired.