The parliamentary committee investigating the 2009 presidential election on Monday decided to inform Romania’s President, Klaus Iohannis on the fact that the former Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI) director, incumbent ambassador of Romania in Washington, George Maior refused to answer the questions of this legislative forum.
The above-mentioned proposition was made by the Social Democrat deputy Liviu Plesoianu and passed by a vote of seven to two and three abstentions.
MP Florea: JusMin Toader will play his part of mediator at meeting of inquiry committee
The bureau of the parliamentary inquiry committee, Attorney General Augustin Lazar and Minister of Justice Tudorel Toader, as a mediator, will have a meeting this week on the closed 2009 presidential election file, committee chair Oana Florea (photo) said Monday.
“Mr Tudorel Toader will play his part of mediator and this week the bureau of the inquiry committee will meet the attorney general (…) for discussion on the closed file requested by our committee (…) I think it is very good for everyone to clarify such things, to avoid getting stuck in uncertainty, especially that a possible referral to the CCR [Constitutional Court of Romania] will be made, and a CCR ruling will definitely come after the committee has wound up. This discussion is useful, said Florea after a meeting on Monday of the committee inquiring into the 2009 presidential election.
She said the meeting will carry on in the office of the minister of justice Wednesday or Thursday.
“The deadline for writing the report is very near, sometime next week [September 8t]. I think a dialogue is good and I hope we get some answers to our questions (…) I want some information to help me write a report as clear as possible and as engaged as possible. My colleagues [on the inquiry committee] voted to find out the minister’s view on the fact that although the Constitutional Court has ruled that the chief prosecutor of the DNA [National Anti-Corruption Directorate] has to come up before the committee, by virtue of the principle of loyal cooperation between institutions, the letters sent are not quite satisfactory, and neither are the answers to the questions asked by the committee members. We will surely talk about this situation,” added Florea.
Senate’s Constitutional and Legal Committees have until August 28 to issue a point of view on the letter from the parliamentary committee inquiring into the 2009 presidential election concerning the possible referral to the CCR of a legal conflict of a constitutional nature between the Public Prosecution Service and Parliament.
“Based on such point of view, the Senate president will take the necessary steps. As the court is now in a recess, after the referral and following the ruling of CCR, the committee will nevertheless wind up. Anyway, I believe CCR’s opinion on this theme will be useful in the future, but that does not help us at this moment,” said Florea.
Committee investigating 2009 presidential elections to ask for SRI’s standpoint
The parliamentary committee of inquiry into the presidential elections of 2009 on Monday decided to ask for the Romanian Intelligence Service’s (SRI) standpoint on the former SRI head George Maior and former deputy head Florian Coldea having been present or not at Gabriel Oprea’s home, in the night of the elections that year.
The decision was taken upon the proposal of PSD (Social Democratic Party) deputy Liviu Plesoianu.
“We have decided to send a notification to the SRI to find out this institution’s standpoint related to its two employees being or not being present at Mr. Oprea’s home in the night of the elections,” the committee head Oana Florea said.
She also added that she abstained from the vote, while the rest of the members decided it would be useful to find out SRI’s position on the matter.
“Another decision of the committee was to request new documents from Mr. General Dumitru Iliescu, since he stated he owned such additional documents,” showed Florea.
Related to the request of the inquiry committee addressed to the Senate Speaker to notify the CCR (Constitutional Court of Romania) that there is a conflict going on between institutions, Oana Florea specified that it was referred further to the constitutionality committee.
“The answer from the Senate Speaker already came. Our notification was submitted further to the constitutionality committee for its viewpoint on the matter. Based on the latter response, the Senate Speaker will take the necessary steps. Since this institution is now on holiday and the committee will end its activity on September 8, this would be a useful opinion for the future, but it will be of no help for us,” Florea added.
General Prosecutor Lazar unaware of meeting at Ministry of Justice with members of parliamentary committee
General Prosecutor Augustin Lazar claims he is unaware of a meeting he is set to have with the members of the parliamentary committee of inquiry into the presidential elections of 2009, at the Ministry of Justice headquarters.
“In respect to what was said in the public area according to which Augustin Lazar, the General Prosecutor with the Prosecutor’s Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice, is set to take part in a meeting with the parliamentary committee of inquiry into the elections of December 2009, the Information and Public Relations bureau has been authorized to announce that the General Prosecutor with the Prosecutor’s Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice, Augustin Lazar, knows nothing about such a meeting being held at the Ministry of Justice and even less about the topic to be discussed. However, the General Prosecutor with the Prosecutor’s Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice is ready to hold a dialogue according to its specific responsibilities and the legal provisions in force,” reads a message posted on Monday on the Public Ministry’s Facebook page.
