PSD deputy Joaquim Pinto Moreira announced on Monday that he will seek the suspension of the deputy’s mandate once parliamentary immunity is lifted, saying this is not “any admission of guilt”.
The request for the waiver of the parliamentary immunity of PSD deputy Joaquim Pinto Moreira, who was the target of house searches as part of Operation Vortex, has already been received by the Assembly of the Republic.
“It was convenient that I also announced that if and when this opportunity arose, I would draw political conclusions to preserve my party and its leadership.”, he announced, in a statement.
Pinto Moreira points out that this suspension request does not mean “any admission of guilt in the relevant process”, but because he believes he has no “right to disrupt the normal functioning of the political work” of his party “and its top officials”.
Joaquim Pinto Moreira refers that he became aware that “the Assembly of the Republic was asked to waive parliamentary immunity (…) to be appointed as a defendant and questioned in that capacity in the context of the investigation which is already public”.
“As I have stated before, not only will I not object to such a request, but I will also ask that it be carried out expeditiously. I have every interest in providing any clarifications that may be required in the context of that investigation “, he refers.
“I calmly reiterate that I will exercise my defense to demonstrate that I have never committed a crime and that I have always conducted my public and professional life with high ethical and moral standards”
The deputy adds that he believes these clarifications will be essential to prove his “complete innocence in light of the allegations alleged” against him.
“I therefore want to cooperate with the judiciary and I want the judiciary to find out the whole truth with the speed required by the suspicions in question. I reiterate with confidence that I will exercise my defense to demonstrate that I have never committed a crime and that I have always conducted my public and professional life with high ethical and moral standards.”
The news of the request for the waiver of parliamentary immunity was brought forward by CNN Portugal and SIC Notícias and a parliamentary source confirmed to Lusa that this is the case of deputy Joaquim Pinto Moreira, who recently left the Vice-Presidency of the Social Democratic Parliamentary Group has left .
The opinion on this request should be circulated for consideration at the committee meeting scheduled for Wednesday.
Joaquim Pinto Moreira recently left the vice-chairmanship of the Social Democratic parliamentary group and the chairmanship of the parliamentary constitutional review committee after being the target of house searches as part of the Vortex operation.
At the beginning of this month, this operation resulted in the arrest of the then mayor of Espinho, Miguel Reis (PS), – who had since resigned from his mandate – an associate of the latter and three businessmen on suspicion of active and passive corruption. , abuse of power and influence in Operation Vortex.
As part of this operation, the home of Joaquim Pinto Moreira, former mayor of Espinho between 2009 and 2021, was also searched and his computer and mobile phone were seized.
Joaquim José Pinto Moreira was first elected as a deputy in the 2022 parliamentary elections, having become vice president of the Social Democratic Bank under Joaquim Miranda Sarmento after Luís Montenegro took over the presidency of the PSD.
According to the Statute of Deputies, parliamentarians may request the temporary suspension of the mandate of the President of the Assembly of the Republic for any reason deemed relevant (ranging from illness, weighty reasons of a family, personal, professional or academic nature or even “the need to ensure the follow-up of the criminal process” in which he is accused, and in some cases suspension is even mandatory), for a maximum period of six months per legislature.
Source: DN
