Senator Kamina Johnson Smith - file photo
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Senators Lambert Brown and Kamina Johnson Smith
Senator Kamina Johnson Smith has named former People's National Party senator AJ Nicholson as the sender of emails, deemed harassing, which she said she had previously received from a parliamentarian.
Senator Johnson Smith made the initial claim about the emails on April 23 during exchanges in the Senate surrounding the allegations against Westmoreland Central member of parliament George Wright.
She released further details about the emails on Friday afternoon.
Senator Johnson Smith's claim in the Senate late last month had led to calls for her to publicly release the emails.
On Friday, Opposition Senator Lambert Brown revived that call in the Senate.
"I hope, minister, after the period of mourning, you will bring some emails to the parliament to support the damaging allegation you made against people who sat among us as Opposition Senator," he said, his reference to "the period of mourning" acknowledging the death of Senator Johnson Smith's father, Ambassador Anthony Johnson.
Following a short adjournment of the sitting, Senator Johnson Smith indicated she wished to make a personal statement to the Senate.
She confirmed receiving emails in 2014 from former senator AJ Nicholson in relation to his "flexi-rape" comments, which were forwarded to the police by then leader of opposition business in the Senate, Tom Tavares Finson.
But she revealed those were not the emails she referenced when she spoke on April 23.
She said there were subsequent emails four years later on August 6, 2018 and September 23, 2018. But she was only willing to share certain details of the correspondence.
She said the first email from Mr. Nicholson was titled 'CORRUPTION...BRUISED KARMA' and was "largely about matters unrelated to me, but having a section about 'a gleeful opposition senator mercilessly calling me out for sotto voce mumblings of flexi-rape from my seat.'"
"The latter phrase indicated that the flexi-rape debacle was still a concern for this person and he still saw me at the heart of it," she suggested.
Senator Johnson Smith said the second email was of greater concern as it carried the subject, "RAPE...REAL...RAPE" and ended with the words "Karma, more to come."
She said she replied on the same day, September 23, advising Mr. Nicholson to "cease and desist from writing to me." She also sent the emails to be police.
Senator Johnson Smith said he responded to the request, saying he would not write further "but in a way which gave no other comfort."
According to her account, he said: "The TRUTH is what makes you uncomfortable. FACE IT. You will have to live with it uncomfortably. You will NEVER be allowed to forget." He added that he was "satisfied that my message has hit the spot."
Senator Johnson Smith said it was now up to the PNP to publish the emails if it wishes. She said the PNP and Mr. Nicholson "may discuss the emails in the public domain and analyze them as they see fit and to their heart's content" but she would not be "entering the discussion."
Senator Johnson Smith said she would probably press charges if the events took place today.
She explained why she did not press charges at the time, noting that Jamaica was leading in several international fora during 2018 and she did not want to be embroiled in criminal proceedings or "political drama" as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who was leading and coordinating these efforts.
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