The preliminary report of the TAP Commission of Inquiry he only mentions Frederico Pinheiro’s name onceoption justified by the rapporteur Socialist Member to avoid “contagion” from situations outside the scope of the works.
The document prepared by PS deputy Ana Paulo Bernardo mentions only the name of Frederico Pinheiro in a table with the list of hearings held, where it is stated that he was heard “as a former assistant to the Minister of Infrastructure, accompanied by the lawyer , Dr John Nabais”.
In the introduction to this document, with a total of 180 pages, the Deputy Rapporteur justifies the possibility of not analyzing the incidents that occurred in the buildings of the Ministry of Infrastructure with Frederico Pinheiro, nor the use of information services by the government to recover a computer taken by former assistant minister João Galamba.
“This is a report on TAP. It is not intended to be a diary of the CPI (Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry). It is a report on the governance of the company and the management of TAP’s political tutelage. It was necessary,” he argues.
According to Ana Paula Bernardo, according to this criterion there was “an effort to avoid exposure, even any contamination of the report, to a series of actions, situations and discussions that were dragged into the TAP Commission of Inquiry”.
These situations have “taken up a lot of time” in the work, but “actually they are not the target and in some cases are matters that require analysis and action in places other than this committee”, justifies the deputy rapporteur.
“We are talking about situations such as the events that took place on the premises of the Ministry of Infrastructure on the night of April 26, 2022, the actions of the SIS (Security Information Service) in response to the aforementioned incident or the existence of a meeting on January 17, in the presence of the CEO of TAP [na altura Christine Ourmières-Widener] and a Socialist Party deputy, who preceded a hearing in the Committee on Economy, Public Works, Planning and Housing,” specifies.
The rapporteur claims that “the fact that it is not included in this report does not detract from its relevance or relevance, but only that, as already mentioned, they should be analyzed and determined and, if intended, the corresponding corrective measures must be taken by the competent and appropriate entities, bodies, offices or agencies”.
Case with Frederico Pinheiro led to the opening of an investigation at the Public Prosecutor’s Office
Regarding the incidents involving Frederico Pinheiro that took place at the Ministry of Infrastructure on the night of April 26, it is stated that “the case has already been referred to the relevant police entities, resulting in the opening of an investigation at the Public Prosecutor’s Office “. and that “this investigation will be conducted independently of and outside the work of this committee”.
With regard to the intervention of the SIS, with a view to recovering a computer, the PS representative points out that “the competent committee for constitutional affairs, rights, freedoms and guarantees of the Assembly of the Republic, has already after hearing the Director of the SIS – and the Secretary-General of the SIRP (Information System of the Portuguese Republic), where the situation has already been clarified”.
As for the preparatory meeting for a hearing in the Economy Committee involving the former executive chairman of TAP and at least one PS deputy, in January this year, Ana Paula Bernardo emphasizes that it took place on “a date before the approval of this committee inquiry.
According to the deputy, “as soon as doubts were raised about that meeting, the CPI took the necessary steps”, referring to the Transparency and Statute of Deputies Commission, “committee responsible for this purpose”, which “already expressed an opinion”.
Source: DN
