By By SUZANNE CARLSON Daily News Staff

Copyright virginislandsdailynews

With a potential federal shutdown looming, Government House Communications Director Richard Motta Jr. said during a press briefing Monday that there would likely be little impact on Virgin Islanders.

Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. has been off island for a week and did not appear at Monday’s briefing. Government House has not provided any information about where he went, and if the trip was for government business or a personal vacation following reports that he traveled to Costa Rica.

Motta dismissed concerns that a federal shutdown would have a significant effect locally.

“In the six-and-a-half years that this administration has taken shape, we’ve seen this happen a number of times, and most of those impacts have been fairly minimal and have been resolved before any long-term impacts could be realized on the local side, so we’re hopeful that that would be the case again this time,” Motta said.

New customs duty requirements have been adding shipping costs and headaches for Virgin Islanders who rely on the mail to send and receive basic household goods and business supplies.

V.I. Delegate to Congress Stacey Plaskett is “reaching out to the White House to seek some sort of exemption on this, so that’s what we’re tracking right now,” Motta said.

Motta announced that the 2025 Governor’s Workforce Summit will open today on St. Croix at Caribbean Cinemas from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The summit will continue Thursday, on St. Thomas at Caribbean Cinemas from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and conclude on Friday, on St. John at the Legislature Hall from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

“Governor Bryan has often said that the most important infrastructure we can build is not only roads and ports but also people, the human capital of our territory,” Motta said. “The Workforce Summit is where those investments in people are put into action.”

Registration is free and available at viwdb.vi.gov. Residents who cannot attend in person can join virtually through Government House’s Facebook page or by tuning in to the Government Access Channel, Channel 27, for One Communications subscribers.

Motta also announced that on Wednesday, Bryan will preside over the swearing-in ceremony of Vincent Roberts as commissioner of Sports, Parks and Recreation at Government House on St. Thomas.

The department’s previous commissioner, Calvert White, resigned in January after he was indicted on federal charges of honest services wire fraud and bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds. A jury found White and co-defendant Benjamin Hendricks guilty in July, and sentencing is set for Jan. 22.

On Monday, White’s defense attorney Clive Rivers filed a memorandum in support of his motion for a new trial, arguing that the trial judge improperly answered a question from the jury.

During deliberations, jurors sent a note to the judge asking, “Is it common knowledge that text messages, WhatsApp or phone calls when individuals in the U.S. Virgin Islands use networks, systems or servers outside the U.S. Virgin Islands and constitute a wire transaction in interstate commerce,” according to the memorandum.

While prosecutors argued the jury should continue deliberations without further instruction, the judge explained to jurors that communication via telephone, internet, text messages, “or other similar means of communication qualifies as interstate wire communications under the act. That addresses — that’s the legal question posed at least by this statement. I cannot answer the fact question that’s raised here. That’s something you have to decide, not us,” according to the memorandum.

According to Rivers, “Mr. White has met his burden for an acquittal, or a new trial because he has established that he would have been acquitted of honest services fraud had the jury not been instructed that all his on-island communications via texts and whatsapp should automatically count as interstate commerce. The evidence failed to support such a finding, but the judge gave a legal instruction that negated the need for the jury to find a crucial factual element of Count One.”