Inihayag ng lead counsel ni dating Pangulong Duterte na si Atty. Nicholas Kaufman na wala na umanong interes ang kampo ng dating Pangulo kay Harry Roque na kunin bilang abogado.
Sa isang panayam na inilathala ng Facebook page na Alvin and Tourism at malapit na tagasuporta ng mga Duterte sa The Hague, noong Hulyo 29, 2025, nilinaw umano ni Kaufman ang posisyon ng kampo ng kaniyang kliyente sa panghihimasok umano ni Roque sa kaso ni dating Pangulong Duterte.
“From day one, Harry Roque has portrayed himself as the only person capable of defending the former President, motivating the public against me and my team,” ani Kaufman.
Dagdag pa niya, “As it is, neither the former President, nor anyone else in his immediate vicinity, is interested in Harry Roque as a lawyer.”
Iginiit din ni Kaufman na maging si dating Pangulong Duterte raw ay nagnanais nang patigilin si Roque sa anumang mga ginagawa nitong pangingialam sa hinaharap niyang kaso sa International Criminal Court (ICC) sa The Hague, Netherlands.
“The former President has made it known that Roque should stop interfering in his case and return to the Philippines to sort out his own troubling legal issues,” ani Kaufman.
Samantala, bago nito, nauna nang pinuna ni Kaufman ang pagkilos umano ni Roque nang mag-isa upang makisali sa kaso ni dating Pangulong Duterte kung saan nagbalak pa raw siyang kasuhan ang Dutch government.
“Dutch lawyer has confirmed to me that Harry Roque approached him with an initiative to sue the Dutch Government for facilitating the rendition of the former President. “In my opinion, this was a crazy scheme because the release of the former President would require the cooperation of the Dutch Government, something unlikely to be forthcoming if they are being sued by the person concerned.” anang lead counsel.
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