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House confirms Olga Virriel Cardona to FEI amid ethics and process objections
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Summary
The Puerto Rico House confirmed Olga Virriel Cardona as an alternate member of the Panel of the Special Independent Prosecutor (FEI) on June 30, 2025, after contentious floor debate about past ethics findings and a federal wrongful‑termination judgment. The nomination passed 33-17 after an unsuccessful motion to table the nomination.
The Puerto Rico House of Representatives approved the nomination of Olga Virriel Cardona as an alternate member of the Panel of the Special Independent Prosecutor (FEI) on June 30, 2025, by a recorded vote of 33 in favor and 17 opposed.
The nomination drew sustained opposition on the floor. Representative Héctor Ferrer (referred to in debate as Ferrer Santiago) and other members urged the House to withhold confirmation after citing a published ethics admonition from the Tribunal Supremo de Puerto Rico and a federal wrongful‑termination judgment that was later affirmed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. Ferrer told colleagues that the nominee had been the subject of an INRE proceeding in which the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico found misconduct tied to her actions as a judge; he also cited a federal case in which a jury found for a plaintiff who said Ms. Virriel had dismissed an attorney who assisted a sexual‑harassment complainant. Ferrer argued that those records raised questions of prudence and character for a post meant to restore public faith in anti‑corruption processes.
Opponents repeatedly asked for a public hearing and additional committee scrutiny. Representative Pérez Santiago moved to lay the nomination on the table so the House would not take a final vote; that motion was put to a voice vote on the floor and was defeated.
Supporters, including Víctor Paredes, president of the House Committee on Government, said the committee previously held a public hearing on the nomination (May 12 was cited during debate) and that a committee report—previously issued and later withdrawn on May 15—had concluded Ms. Virriel met the formal academic and professional requirements. Paredes and other proponents argued that judicial and administrative processes had resolved the matters cited by opponents and that the nominee had the requisite credentials for the FEI post.
Opponents pointed to committee procedural issues raised in floor debate: members said a committee report recommending confirmation had been withdrawn on May 15 and that information surfaced after the May hearing that, in their view, warranted another public hearing. Critics also cited statistics mentioned on the floor about the FEI office’s caseload: a floor speaker said that between 2022 and 2024 the office filed 119 complaints and that only 27 had found cause (a figure cited as about 22.7 percent), with roughly 77.3 percent resulting in no cause or dismissal.
After extended debate, the House voted to confirm Olga Virriel Cardona as an alternate member of the FEI panel. The action came after opponents failed to secure a tabling motion and after floor exchanges over the committee process and whether additional hearings should have been held.
The nomination now moves to implementation steps for the FEI panel; the House recorded the vote in the legislative journal and directed notification of the governor.
