An ASUC senator and a group of Boalt Hall School of Law students are seeking to remove Attorney General Michael Sinanian from office on the grounds that he has stalled certification of the results of the recall election of Senator John Moghtader.

Cooperative Movement Senator Christina Oatfield made a motion to impeach Sinanian at Wednesday night's senate meeting. The motion, which will be voted on at the next meeting on April 15, would need a two-thirds vote to pass.

About 20 law students had contacted Oatfield and arranged to speak on Wednesday about Sinanian's alleged violations of the ASUC Constitution.

"Sinanian continues to try to delay the results of the recall coming into effect," said Boalt Hall School of Law student Darin Ranahan, who filed a charge sheet Tuesday asking that the recall results be certified immediately. "It shows contempt for the democratic process, and I think it's simply inappropriate for an ASUC official."

The last time an ASUC official was impeached was in 2007, after five senators alleged former Judicial Council Chair Sonya Banerjee had violated council procedures, including badgering witnesses. She was not removed from office.

In the motion, Oatfield accused Sinanian of delaying the certification of recall results without producing evidence, perjuring himself by referencing allegedly fabricated litigation and violating the rights of those who voted to recall Moghtader last month.

After being recalled by a 72 percent majority, Moghtader showed a video to Sinanian and The Daily Californian that Sinanian says proves Moghtader did not assault junior Dina Omar and others during a Nov. 13 Eshleman Hall altercation, an accusation that ignited the recall effort.

Omar is currently a defendant in a Judicial Council suit filed by Sinanian that accuses her of making false statements in the recall campaign, including statements in the Daily Cal and the ASUC voter's guide.

Moghtader has said he will not make the videotape public in the interests of a pending libel suit against Omar.

"I'm all for us going back to correct a mistake, but right now, I'm just not buying it," said Oatfield, referring to the content of the video. She said if the video truly exonerates Moghtader, it should be "all over YouTube."

Berkeley College Republicans Senator Tommy Owens said he is confident supporters of the motion will not be successful in removing Sinanian from office.

"(This effort) shows they're desperate, and they know there's a video out there that refutes all of their claims," said Owens, adding he feels the motion is meant to intimidate Moghtader and his supporters.

Sinanian agreed, saying most of the senators would support him.

"These reckless agitators know that their time is limited," he said in an e-mail. "They know that the truth will soon be revealed, and that I am the gatekeeper of that torrent of shame and disgrace that will fall upon them in the time of judgment."

If Sinanian is removed from office, he will miss less than a month of official senate business.

"(His impeachment) is largely a symbolic gesture for the victims who were assaulted on the balcony of Eshleman Hall," Oatfield said.

Tags: BOALT HALL SCHOOL OF LAW