Government House Condemns Reckless Daily News Reporting on Governor's Absence from Briefing - Government of the United States Virgin Islands

Government House Condemns Reckless Daily News Reporting on Governor's Absence from Briefing - Government of the United States Virgin Islands

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Government House Condemns Reckless Daily News Reporting on Governor’s Absence from Briefing

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												September 30					

U.S. Virgin Islands
 — Government House strongly condemns the Virgin Islands Daily News for its reckless and misleading report suggesting that Governor Albert Bryan Jr. “skipped” Monday’s weekly press briefing. That claim is both false and irresponsible.

The facts are clear. Governor Bryan was officially out of the territory from 
Monday, September 22, through Sunday, September 28
, as stated in a Government House press release issued September 22. He returned to the Virgin Islands on Sunday and, on Monday, September 29, attended the funeral services of his beloved aunt. To portray the Governor’s absence from the briefing as dereliction of duty is to distort reality and to disrespect a solemn family occasion.

Virgin Islands law requires only one action when the Governor travels: the establishment of the order of succession. That requirement, found in 
Title 3, Section 30(a) of the Virgin Islands Code
, is fulfilled without exception. There is no statutory requirement to disclose whether the Governor’s travel is official or personal, nor any requirement to detail the purpose of such travel.

Equally reckless is the suggestion that the Governor is obliged to personally conduct every weekly press briefing. These briefings are not mandated by law. They are a voluntary act of transparency introduced by the Bryan-Roach Administration six years ago. At no time did the Administration promise or imply that the Governor would appear at every briefing. The format has always included the Lieutenant Governor, Cabinet members, and senior officials, ensuring that the people of the Virgin Islands are informed of the work of their government.

For the Daily News to twist an act of mourning into an opportunity for sensationalism and to misrepresent a voluntary exercise in openness as a broken obligation is not journalism. It is yellow journalism, designed to inflame rather than inform.

The Bryan-Roach Administration will not be distracted by manufactured controversy. The Governor remains committed to his duties: leading, serving, and continuing to build a stronger Virgin Islands. The people deserve honest reporting, not tabloid tactics masquerading as news.

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