Kaczyński's letter to Ziobro about the Justice Fund. Expert: the film “Young Wolves” is reminiscent

Attorney, professor Michał Romanowski from the Romanowski i Wspólnicy Law Firm and a lecturer at the University of Warsaw commented on the letter in “Wstajesz i wiesz” on TVN24. Jaroslaw Kaczynski down Zbigniew Ziobro from 2019, which concerned the spending of funds from the Justice Fund. He also referred to the PiS chairman's comment on this correspondence.

Questions arose as to whether President Kaczyński, given the knowledge he had, should have filed a report of suspicion of committing a crime, and whether that letter can be treated as such an effective report.

The content of the letter was quoted by “Gazeta Wyborcza”. The PiS chairman asked for “immediate prohibition of Solidarna Polska candidates from using the Justice Fund during the election campaign”. Kaczyński warned that cases of irregularities “may bring disastrous consequences from the point of view of the course of the campaign”.

Read here: Kaczyński wrote to Ziobro regarding the Justice Fund

At Tuesday's conference the PiS president was asked about how many voices reached him about irregularities in the Justice Fund, and also about the fact that he could have reported this matter to the prosecutor's office. – I would ask you, however, to think a little. At least about one matter. Where did I send this letter? Who was the person to whom I sent this letter? I know that Tusk makes such accusations, but here hatred takes away reason, really. It takes away reason in such a radical, simply mad way – said Kaczyński.

He also assessed that “all kinds of allegations of a legal or criminal nature that (are) formulated here are simply, to say the least, nonsense.”

>> Kaczyński asked about his letter to Ziobro. “A specific mental state” <<

One of the journalists noted that “we probably have to distinguish between a report of a possible crime and a private letter to the Attorney General” with a warning. – Hence the question, why did you not submit such a formal report of a possible crime at that time? – the reporter asked. – I repeat, I addressed the letter to someone who is the most appropriate person here, and the form of this letter has no legal significance here – Kaczyński argued.

At the same time, shortly after the letter was published in the media, the MP Roman Giertych (KO) announced that the PiS Settlement Team he leads will submit a motion to the prosecutor's office about the possibility of a crime being committed by PiS chairman Jarosław Kaczyński in connection with his failure to notify law enforcement agencies that the Justice Fund may be used for electoral purposes.

On social media, he specified that it concerns a suspicion of committing a crime under Article 231 paragraph 2 of the Penal Code “for failing to notify law enforcement authorities of a crime prosecuted ex officio, consisting in the withdrawal of money from the Justice Fund for electoral purposes by MPs from Solidarna Polska in order to conceal a fact that could result in the loss of subsidies for the Law and Justice party.”

Giertych argued that Jarosław Kaczyński, as a public official, became aware in 2019 that “his colleagues from the PiS club were stealing public money to promote their candidates”. As he stated, the PiS president did nothing with this knowledge, although he had an obligation to do so. According to Giertych, the lack of reaction was motivated by “the desire to obtain financial or personal benefits”, i.e. the fear of losing subsidies for PiS.

Article 231 paragraph 2 of the Penal Code states that a public official who, exceeding his powers or failing to perform his duties, acts in order to gain a material or personal benefit shall be subject to the penalty of imprisonment from one to 10 years.

Attorney Michał Romanowski responded to the claims made by Kaczyński regarding the nature of his letter on TVN24.

– When I hear this type of explanation, I am reminded of the 1995 film, “Young Wolves” by Jarosław Żamojda, where a young nineteen-year-old “Prymus” was prepared to commit a crime. And he received the following advice: Never confess. If they catch you drunk in a car, say you weren't drinking. If they find dollars in your pocket, say they're not your pants. If they catch your hand, say it's not your hand. Never confess – he recalled.

According to the expert, “the content of this letter clearly indicates that it was indeed addressed to the most appropriate person, but not as the Minister of Justice, but as the chairman of a political party whose party members ran from the Law and Justice lists.” – There is no doubt about that – he assessed.

In response to the comment by the host of the program Robert Kantereit that, according to the PiS chairman, form does not matter, Romanowski emphasized that “form, of course, matters, but content is even more important.”

– The content determines what the subject of this letter was. And it was a letter addressed from the party chairman to the party chairman, in which Chairman Kaczyński unequivocally, categorically, demands from Minister Zbigniew Ziobro, the party leader, that members of his party do not use financing from the Justice Fund in their election campaigns – he said.

He noted that “this is not how you write reports of suspected crimes.”

– The form is important and the content is important. Here, both the form and the content clearly indicate that this cannot be classified as a notification of suspicion of committing a crime – he concluded.

Romanowski admitted that he “shares the view that in this case there are grounds to file a report – which has already been filed by some – about the suspicion of committing a crime under Article 231 paragraph 2 of the Penal Code.”

He emphasized that it concerns “filing a report of suspicion of committing a crime by Mr. Jarosław Kaczyński”. – Which of course does not mean that there are no other far-reaching legal consequences – he stipulated.

He returned to the reference to the film “Young Wolves”. – In this case, President Jarosław Kaczyński says that it was his hand. He is a bit obscured by amnesiabut the line of defense that is accepted, that in fact the prosecutor's office was notified and that there appears (in the letter – editor's note) the magic phrase “if it is true”, in fact means an admission. This is significant evidence – assessed Romanowski.

The letter quoted by “GW” was found in the possession of former deputy head of the Ministry of Justice Marcin Romanowski, responsible for managing money from the Justice Fund. As reported by the newspaper, ABW officers entered his apartment in March of this year in connection with an investigation into irregularities at the Fund.