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Unprecedented attack of President Iohannis against Dragnea in suitcase scandal: This felon is making progress in the field of fake news. Head of state defies Justice Minister, won’t give immediate answer to request to dismiss Augustin Lazar

November 6, 2018

President Klaus Iohannis stated on Tuesday that the information that concerns him and that Liviu Dragnea provided the day before is “fake news,” saying that Dragnea is “a desperate man who is making progress.” “This is what happens when a felon ends up at the helm of the state, and Dragnea, this felon, is making progress not in the field of the rule of law but in the field of fake news. Today it’s called fake news, before it was called lies. We had Caragiale, the pink note, and we’ve reached the suitcase stage. This is what happens if felons end up at the helm of the state,” President Klaus Iohannis stated. Asked about the real suitcase, the one which came into the possession of Rise Project, the President said he knows nothing about it even though some suggest otherwise. “I don’t know what’s with these suitcases, I have nothing to do with it. The man (Dragnea – editor’s note) is desperate and has major problems and wants to bring up other things and comes up with manipulative manoeuvres,” the President added. The statements came the day after PSD President Liviu Dragnea took two suitcases at the Palace of Parliament, in reaction to the Rise Project press investigation which is based on a suitcase containing Tel Drum documents, a suitcase that journalists say was found by a villager in Teleorman County. In one suitcase the PSD leader brought fudge, while the second contained documents such as the ordinance to dismiss a case concerning President Klaus Iohannis, signed by prosecutor Cristian Lazar, as well as reports on the dismissed criminal cases which concerned the President.   Head of state defies Justice Minister, won’t give immediate answer to request to dismiss Augustin Lazar   President Klaus Iohannis stated on Tuesday that Justice Minister Tudorel Toader’s approach is out of touch with the law in what concerns nomination and dismissal requests, and he will not take a decision on the dismissal. “I have an opinion and will make it known at the right time, today I wouldn’t refer to these cases yet, but an overall behaviour or approach is taking shape on the part of this Justice Minister, an approach that is, I would classify it, out of touch with the law in what concerns proposals for appointments in and dismissals from office. In the meantime, I have more than doubts, I’m slowly moving toward certainty, at least in what concerns the dismissal of the Prosecutor General, a mindboggling overture on the part of this minister and with a corollary just as mindboggling, with stories, public manipulations and so forth… Embarrassing stage, embarrassing stage!”, Klaus Iohannis stated. He said he will not take a decision on the dismissal of the Prosecutor General until judges solve the complaint he lodged with the courts. “We find ourselves, for the time being, in the situation in which a judicial overture has started. I can tell you as early as now, so that there would be no speculation: until judges issue a final verdict, I don’t intend to do anything on this issue. I’ve talked before about the dismissal case. Prosecutor General Lazar did and is doing a good job. I find the dismissal request completely wrong, wrong from a political standpoint, and from a legal standpoint I’ll write something when the situation permits it. Clearly, we are very clearly in an area in which criminals are trying to take over the judiciary and they want to remove those whom they cannot take over,” President Iohannis added. Minister Tudorel Toader triggered the procedure to dismiss Prosecutor General Augustin Lazar on October 24. Prosecutor General Augustin Lazar has lodged with the Alba Iulia Court of Appeals a request to suspend the dismissal procedure triggered by Justice Minister Tudorel Toader. The trial date has been set for November 20. The Prosecutor General has also lodged with the Justice Ministry a prior complaint against the report.  

The post Unprecedented attack of President Iohannis against Dragnea in suitcase scandal: This felon is making progress in the field of fake news. Head of state defies Justice Minister, won’t give immediate answer to request to dismiss Augustin Lazar appeared first on Nine O' Clock.

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