Man Claiming to Be Puerto Rico’s Governor Will Let Courts Decide

(Bloomberg) -- Pedro Pierluisi, the man sworn in as Puerto Rico’s governor in a constitutionally fuzzy secret ceremony, said Sunday that the island’s court system should decide if he’s the rightful leader of the U.S. commonwealth.

At issue are the island’s succession laws and their constitutionality.

The matter was scheduled to go before the commonwealth’s Senate Monday, and he had said in press conference Friday that he would willingly step down if the Senate rejected him. But on Sunday he appeared to suggest the Senate vote was moot and that it was for the island’s top judges to decide.

“What’s the prudent thing here?” he said, according to a video of the remarks shared by newspaper El Nuevo Dia. “Since laws are presumed constitutional, even if there are scholars I respect that say otherwise, one assumes office and then the tribunals decide whether the oath of office is valid or not.”

Pierluisi’s argument appeared deeply legalistic, and a cloud of illegitimacy would likely hang over his head should the Senate oppose him taking office. In a gesture of appeasement, he said in a separate statement on Sunday he respected the Senate’s right to “express itself over my incumbency.”

In the Friday press conference, Pierluisi said he had sought to avoid the kind of conflict that could only be resolved in the island’s high court. The mayor of San Juan has pledged to initiate filings to take the case to court Monday.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jonathan Levin in Miami at jlevin20@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Michael J. Moore at mmoore55@bloomberg.net, Ian Fisher, Steve Geimann

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