Opinion ID: 1199597
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 15

Heading: Relevance and authenticity of 1994 Gholston declaration

Text: As indicated above, Gholston's 1996 declaration, and her live testimony, contradicted her 1994 declaration in material respects. On the witness stand, Gholston went so far as to deny that the 1994 declaration was authentic. At the hearing, petitioner's counsel faced the task of showing that Gholston's 1994 declaration, suggesting her actual bias, was more credible than her later disclaimers. Counsel thus devoted considerable attention to impeaching Gholston's claims that she never read, approved, initialed, or signed the earlier document. The Attorney General presented substantial rebuttal evidence on that issue. We did not ask the referee to determine whether Gholston's 1994 declaration was authentic, and he did not do so. Indeed, he neither identified nor resolved any specific credibility disputes. Instead, he appears to have concluded that even if Gholston did review and approve the 1994 declaration 1298attributed to her, its words are subject to interpretation in light of the evidence introduced at the reference hearing. Our analysis proceeds accordingly.