António Costa’s statements to CNN Portugal, in which the Prime Minister said that he would “probably” wait for the decision of the investigating judge before submitting his resignation as the statement announcing on the morning of November 7 that Operation Influencer was going on, had it not been for the fact that the Attorney General of the Republic had been “grafted” into the last paragraph, realizing that he himself was the target of an investigation by the Supreme Court of Justice, the judicial and political circles were yesterday agitated with calls for “restraint” and “modesty” from those involved.
Despite telling CNN Portugal that he would resign again today because of a statement “in which a person, who is not just any person, the Attorney General of the Republic, intends to officially communicate to the country and the world that , In addition, a case was opened against the Prime Minister”, António Costa suggested that equivalent questions could be asked to Lucília Gago and Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa. “What we can do is everyone who made this statement, and whoever subsequently made the decision taken to dissolve the Assembly of the Republic, ask whether they would do the same, given what they know today,” the Prime Minister said.
“I think it is normal that if there is a suspicion, that suspicion is investigated. If you ask me whether I think it is normal that the existence of the suspicion is made public without sufficiently thorough investigative steps having been carried out to determine the suitability of a The person who must be publicly questioned, the person, is something where justice must reflect on itself,” the Prime Minister added, guaranteeing that he was not angry but rather “hurt” that his integrity and honesty were being questioned.
Also yesterday morning, the Attorney General of the Republic, in a speech at the National Headquarters of the Judicial Police, defended the role of the Public Prosecutor’s Office in carrying out the operation Influencer. “Today, the deep and intersecting roots of attacks on a judiciary with proven evidence and which will remain unbreakable and untouched by the criticism of those who wish to denigrate, discredit or even, even if silently or unconsciously, destroy, clearly. clear today,” said Lucília Gago, making sure he is “well aware of the responsibility of the Public Prosecutor” at a time when criticism of the Operation has increased. Influencerleading to the resignation of António Costa and the scheduling of early parliamentary elections on March 10, 2024.
Referring to statements made by political agents about the actions of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Attorney General of the Republic said that “it must be regretted and refuted that bipolar approaches that seem to both praise this and, when buffeted by storms that target the certain of investigations, come to regard it as highly questionable and ineffective, and call for redoubled explanations, which from this point of view will probably never reach the threshold of sufficiency.
In light of what is seen by those responsible for Justice as “an exchange of pennants” between António Costa and Lucília Gago, the desire is not to “increase the fire” with more statements about the clash between the Prime Minister and the Attorney General of the Republic shall prevail. “I honestly don’t think this was necessary,” Deputy Attorney General António Cluny told DN, with the former president of the Union of Public Prosecutors declining to further express the discomfort caused by this controversy.
At a time when it is a common voice within the Portuguese judiciary that “the system is weakened”, and when it would be advisable for political decision-makers to implement fundamental reforms, as part of an upcoming constitutional revision, a former government official with responsibilities in this area told the DN that we should especially “perhaps discuss how the Public Prosecution Service does what it should do”. However, in the current situation, with very extreme positions, it is preferable “not to add more noise to the existing noise”.
Exceptions to this rule are two of the examples cited by Costa of ministers of his governments who were the subject of legal proceedings and ultimately acquitted. The prime minister referred to CNN former Defense Minister José Alberto Azeredo Lopes, “with whom they tampered with the attack on the Tancos barracks,” and former Interior Minister Eduardo Cabrita, who “in the world is the largest must have been.” only passenger in the back seat who was accused of dangerous driving and manslaughter by being run over.” One of the sources interviewed by DN recalled that in this case António Costa had failed to inform the Public Prosecution Service of the family of the worker who was run over on the A6. did not accompany these two accusations.
PSD interrogates Costa and defends Marcelo
The main reaction to António Costa’s statements about the operation Influencer left the PSD through Vice President Paulo Rangel. The MEP also shared with DN the “bewilderment and concern” over an intervention by those who “seem to want to condition the justice system”, ruling that “the Prime Minister must remain modest in these matters”.
It is also clear to the Social Democrats that the Prime Minister’s words “were not very appropriate from an institutional point of view” with regard to the Attorney General of the Republic and also to the President of the Republic. About his first conversation with Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa on the morning of November 7, António Costa told TVI that it was “very important for me to think about what I was going to do”. “The Prime Minister has the duty to also listen to the President of the Republic when it comes to fundamental decisions,” he argued, adding that in the second conversation at the Belém Palace “the issues on the table did not justify this had”. This is because the Attorney General of the Republic had in the meantime issued a statement regarding a lawsuit “that referred to corruption, crimes, influence peddling, in relation to other people, and said that conversations between third parties referred to the Prime Minister ‘. Minister”.
Paulo Rangel responds that the fact that António Costa surrounded himself with “some people who were not suitable for the positions and functions they held” really led to his resignation as prime minister. “And this is the cause of the political crisis,” says the PSD vice-president, returning to Costa the question he asked Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and Lucília Gago in their statements to CNN Portugal. “Would the prime minister reappoint his chief of staff if he knew what is known today?” Rangel asked, emphasizing that the dismissal would always be “inevitable” as “no prime minister in any democratic country can resist offer if his chief of staff is involved in a scandal of this nature.”
The searches carried out on the morning of November 7 led to the arrest of António Costa’s chief of staff, Vítor Escária, in whose office in the Prime Minister’s official residence more than 75,000 euros in cash was found, as well as the adviser ( and former best friend of the Prime Minister) Diogo Lacerda Machado, the president of the Sines Municipal Council, Nuno Mascarenhas, and Afonso Salema and Rui Oliveira Neves, administrators of Start Campus. Escária was not allowed to leave the country, Lacerda Machado surrendered his passport and had to pay a deposit of 150,000 euros, while the two managers were imposed identity and residence conditions, with Start Campus forced to pay a deposit of 600,000 euros. Although, for now, the allegations of corruption have degenerated into coercive measures, leaving only those who exert influence.
After meeting twice with Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa on the morning of November 7, and after releasing a statement from the Public Prosecutor’s Office reporting criminal evidence related to the exploration of lithium in Montalegre and Boticas, the production of energy from hydrogen in Sines and the construction of a data center in the industrial and logistics area of the city of Alentejo, António Costa has resigned, but made it clear yesterday that he has “a clear conscience”. “I have no doubt what the end of the story is because I know exactly what I did and what I didn’t do. I know that I have not benefited from any decision I have made during these almost thirty years of political life. “No unlawful advantage, in addition to the salary that is paid to me. And that’s why I’m waiting patiently,” he said.
Paulo Rangel responds that anyone who has held political office for thirty years “must know how to surround themselves better”, recalling that the thirteen resignations of António Costa’s government since the PS won an absolute majority in the parliamentary elections of January 30, 2022 are a demonstration of a “problem of selecting the best,” which “poses a political problem and not a problem of justice.”
As for the hypothesis that Costa’s criticism of the Public Prosecution Service poses a threat to the separation of powers, the Social Democratic Vice President believes it is “very bad for institutional normality if the Prime Minister makes these kinds of statements.” Something that Rangel admits “never expected from António Costa”.
In turn, Costa reaffirmed to CNN his defense of the MP’s autonomy, as long as he respects his internal hierarchy.
PJ doesn’t want to be left out again
The National Director of the Judicial Police (PJ), Luís Neves, yesterday expressed the expectation that it will not be excluded from investigations into economic-financial crime, such as Operation Influencer, despite the recognition of the autonomy of the Public Prosecution Service (MP). “It has all the power to initiate and directly conduct investigations. And for us this is not a drama, we feel honored and proud when we intervene,” he declared on the sidelines of a conference on corruption and integrity in sport, at the PJ headquarters in Lisbon.
Asked why the MP in the case that led to the Prime Minister’s resignation chose other authorities to the detriment of the PJ – which has specialized powers for investigating corruption and economic-financial crime – Luís Neves said that this issue is “ resolved” and recalled the PJ’s lack of resources in 2019, when the investigation began. The national director also pointed out that Lucília Gago recently made a point of “reiterating the importance and confidence in the PJ”.
Lusa
Source: DN
