The Prime Minister had no knowledge about the operation of the services, the prosecutor's office acted in a state of surprise – said the head of the Chancellery of the Prime Minister, Jan Grabiec, in “Kropka nad i” on TVN24, referring to the activities of the services related to the Justice Fund scandal. He added that “there is no doubt that justice should work and touch everyone.”
On Tuesday and Wednesday, at the request of prosecutors from the Justice Fund investigative team, searches were carried out in various places throughout the country. Their purpose is to secure evidence, including documentation regarding the fund. Services appeared, among others: in Zbigniew Ziobro's house. The spokesman for the National Prosecutor's Office, prosecutor Przemysław Nowak, announced that five people were charged on Tuesday and Wednesday, and two more were previously charged. He informed that the prosecutor would apply for temporary arrest against three people because there is a fear of fraud.
He also said that the material collected on Tuesday and Wednesday would be analyzed with a view to lifting the immunity of politicians.
Grabiec: justice should work and affect everyone
The case was commented on in “Kropka nad i” by the head of the Chancellery of the Prime Minister, Jan Grabiec. He said that Prime Minister Donald Tusk “had no knowledge” that there would be searches, among others, at Ziobro's house. – Yes, we knew that there were huge irregularities regarding the Justice Fund. In fact, many media wrote about it, and we ourselves have submitted reports to the prosecutor's office in recent years regarding this matter. However, we had no knowledge about the nature of the activities of the Internal Security Agency and the prosecutor's office in this case – he added. He also said that Tusk never sought to know “anything related to the substantive work of the prosecutor's office.”
Grabiec was also asked whether the Minister of Justice, Attorney General Adam Bodnar, knew about the planned actions of the services. – I don't have that knowledge, I don't know what the relationships were there. I guess he must have been informed that the prosecutor's office was conducting proceedings, but I did not notice that anyone had knowledge about when and to what extent these activities would take place – Grabiec continued. He added that “the prosecutor's office acted under surprise.”
The head of the Chancellery of the Prime Minister also said that “there is no doubt that justice should work and affect everyone.” – Minister Ziobro once said that “honest people have nothing to be afraid of” – he added.
Grabiec: this is not just a waste of public money, it is simply theft
The TVN24 guest also talked about the circumstances of the search at Zbigniew Ziobro's house. – I have the impression that the services knew very well why they were going, what materials they were looking for, what materials they wanted to keep, and that the evidence was so rich that it was not a blind search – he said.
– As I listen carefully to the spokesman for the prosecutor's office, it seems that it is not only about the fact that this money was withdrawn, but that the purpose of withdrawing it was determined in advance by those who had the money at their disposal. So we are dealing with a full circle – this is not just a waste of public money, it is simply theft – said Jan Grabiec.
Grabiec on Giertych's involvement: everyone chooses their own defender
Grabiec also referred to the information that Roman Giertych, also a KO politician, together with attorney Jacek Dubois represent one of the suspects in a case related to the Justice Fund.
Giertych announced this in the evening on social media.
– For now, in Poland, everyone chooses their own defender. I know that Roman Giertych – and not only him, there are several lawyers in Poland who have the opinion that – regardless of the arrangement involved in the scandal, he is capable of endangering the authorities, very powerful people. Because we are talking about the Minister of Justice, the Prosecutor General, several ministers, and several high-ranking officials who had hundreds of millions of zlotys at their disposal, said the head of the Chancellery of the Prime Minister.
– So you need a lot of courage to dare to testify in the case of people so strongly entrenched in power, and then you need – I guess – a lawyer who will stand firm and will not soften when the threats start – continued the head of the Chancellery of the Prime Minister.
Grabiec was asked whether he saw a conflict of interest in this situation, given that Giertych is also the vice-chairman of the KO club. – It wasn't me who chose attorney Giertych and he didn't choose his protégé. I understand that it was the person who decided to cooperate with the police, (…), who was looking for a lawyer. Here it is difficult to interfere in the relationship between a lawyer and a person who is of interest to the justice system – said the guest of “Kropka nad i”.
Grabiec on Giertych's involvement in the case: everyone chooses their own defense attorney TVN24
Main photo source: TVN24