The Assembly of the Republic this Friday confirmed the authorization to waive the parliamentary immunity of PSD deputy Joaquim Pinto Moreira, with the adoption in plenary of the opinion of the Committee on Transparency and the Statute of Deputies.
The opinion, passed unanimously, authorizes Joaquim Pinto Moreira to be charged and heard for the “alleged practice” of crimes such as passive corruption and subterfuge.
Joaquim Pinto Moreira was present at the plenary session when the vote took place and the waiver of his parliamentary immunity was approved, after which he was greeted by some colleagues from the Social Democratic bench, including Fernando Negrão and António Prôa, before leaving the chamber.
According to the opinion to which the Lusa bureau had access and which had already been approved on Wednesday by the Committee on Transparency and the Statute of Representatives, the Court of the Comarca of Porto asked the Assembly of the Republic for permission to “designate and interrogate PSD deputy Joaquim Pinto Moreira as a defendant”.
At issue is the alleged practice of crimes of passive corruption of political office holders – “ultimately aggravated” if the benefit is “of great value” or “considerably high” – subterfuge, influence and abuse of power.
According to the Constitution and the Statute of Deputies, the waiver of parliamentary immunity is mandatory “when there are strong indications of committing an intentional crime equivalent to imprisonment whose maximum limit exceeds three years”, which occurs in three out of four said crimes.
On January 30, when the request for the waiver of immunity was known, the Social Democratic deputy announced that he would request the suspension of his mandate “following the waiver of the defendant’s parliamentary immunity and ensuing constitution”.
Pinto Moreira insisted this did not imply “any admission of guilt” and justified the decision by thinking he “has no right to interfere with the normal functioning of the political work” of his party “and of its top officials”.
The PSD deputy then indicated that he had “every interest in providing all the clarifications necessary in the context of the said investigation”, as they will be essential to prove his “entire innocence in the light of the alleged allegations” to him.
This process is related to the Vortex operation, in which the home of Joaquim Pinto Moreira, former mayor of Espinho between 2009 and 2021, was searched and his computer and mobile phone were seized.
This operation resulted in the arrest of the then mayor of Espinho, Miguel Reis (PS), – who has since resigned – an official of this and three businessmen on suspicion of active and passive corruption, subterfuge, abuse of power and trafficking in influences.
Pinto Moreira was first elected as a deputy in the 2022 parliamentary elections, having become vice president of the social-democratic group led by Joaquim Miranda Sarmento after Luís Montenegro took over the PSD presidency.
The social democrat recently left the vice-chairmanship of the PSD group and the chairmanship of the parliamentary constitutional review committee after being the target of house searches as part of the Vortex operation.
Source: DN
