The case of Marian Banas, the president of the Supreme Audit Office, was discussed at the Wednesday conference by Donald Tusk, who heads the Civic Platform. He assessed that the head of the Supreme Audit Office “should be treated as a political crown witness”. The PO leader also said that Banas’ immunity, which the prosecutor general wants to waive, “protects him from attacks by the authorities that are afraid of the truth that the president of the Supreme Audit Office has to say about this authority.” “That is why I will wholeheartedly recommend the protection of the political crown witness, Banas,” he said.
Donald Tusk, acting chairman of the Civic Platform, visited Kujawsko-Pomorskie Province on Wednesday. At the conference in Nakło nad Notecią, he was asked, inter alia, about the case of Marian Banas, the president of the Supreme Audit Office.
Zbigniew Ziobro, the Prosecutor General, Minister of Justice, filed a motion to waive Banas’s immunity at the end of July. Investigators want to bring a dozen or so charges to the head of the Supreme Audit Office, including false statements in property declarations. The motion regarding Banas’ immunity must be given an opinion by the regulatory committee before being taken to the parliamentary deliberations. Its session is scheduled for August 10 at 3:00 pm The next session of the Sejm is to be held on August 11. For the waiver of immunity, an absolute statutory number of deputies’ votes is required (231).
Tusk assessed at the conference that “Mr. Banas should be treated as a political crown witness”. – We did not choose him as the head of the Supreme Audit Office – he reminded.
– Moreover, the opposition and free media (…) warned the rulers and the PiS majority that this was not the most appropriate candidate. So if we protect Mr. Banas from the removal of his immunity, it is not because he is the hero of our dreams, but because he is the de facto crown political witness, he argued.
Tusk about Banas: I will recommend the protection of the political crown witness
The leader of the Civic Platform said that the president of the Supreme Chamber of Control “wants to testify and testify publicly about the actions of such, one could say in quotation marks, political mafia in which he once was a participant in some sense.” “Now he is ready to testify and for that it just needs protection, as is the case with any crown witness,” he continued.
Tusk also assessed that “the idea of immunity is not to make people feel unpunished or safe”. – Only that the authorities could not attack the politician who fell into their favor by using the police or the prosecutor’s office. So the immunity of Mr. Banas makes sense: it protects him from attacks by the authorities that are afraid of the truth that the President of the Supreme Audit Office has to say about this authority – he said.
– That is why I will recommend with full conviction the protection of the political crown witness Banaś – said Tusk.
Tusk about Banas: I will recommend the protection of the political crown witnessTVN24
Tusk on pay rises for politicians
Donald Tusk also spoke about the planned pay rises for the most important people in the state, parliamentarians and local government officials. – I talked about this for a long time with the Platform, I expressed an unambiguous view. These are not easy situations, everyone likes to earn more, but it is obvious that from the point of view of virtually every citizen, it is probably not the first need – he said.
At the same time, he added, PiS and Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki were proposing “radical increases for the authorities and very controversial decisions related to raising taxes, health contributions”. As he explained, these are the changes that would be introduced by the new PiS social and economic program proposed by the rulers of Poland.
In the Journal of Laws on Friday evening, the president’s decree was published, introducing increases, among others for the prime minister, marshals of the Sejm and Senate, members of the government and parliamentarians. The prime minister and marshals will earn over 20,000. PLN per month, and the deputies of 12 thousand. zloty.
In addition, on Monday, PiS submitted to the Sejm a draft amendment to the act on pay rises for village heads, mayors, city presidents and councilors, as well as for the President of the Republic of Poland and former presidents.