The Minister of Justice Éric Dupond-Moretti said on Tuesday September 27 that he had the “
virtual assurance
” of being referred to the Court of Justice of the Republic (CJR) for illegal taking of interests.
He will know on October 3 whether or not he will be judged by the CJR, the only court authorized to prosecute and judge ministers for offenses committed in the exercise of their functions.
"
I have the virtual certainty of being referred to the Court of Justice of the Republic
", he however declared during a press conference in the premises of his ministry.
“
I will defend my rights like any litigant
”, continued the Keeper of the Seals.
“
As for the rest, I have always said that I held my legitimacy from the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister and from them alone
”.
"
This indictment has never prevented me from working
," he said.
Dispute the facts
On May 9, the CJR public prosecutor had requested the dismissal of the former lawyer, indicted since July 2021 for illegal taking of interests, judging that there were “
sufficient charges
” against him for this.
The minister, who entered the government in the summer of 2020 and then was reappointed to the Chancellery after the re-election last May of Emmanuel Macron, is suspected of having taken advantage of his position to settle scores with magistrates with whom he had had trouble. leave when he was a lawyer in two cases.
The first concerns the administrative investigation he ordered in September 2020 against three magistrates of the National Financial Prosecutor's Office who had had his detailed telephone bills ("
fadettes
") go through when he was a lawyer.
In the second, he is accused of having initiated administrative proceedings against a former investigating judge seconded to Monaco, Édouard Levrault, who had indicted one of his ex-clients.
Read alsoThe fadettes affair: the pebble in Éric Dupond-Moretti's shoe
Éric Dupond-Moretti disputes the facts, claiming to have only "
follow the recommendations of his administration
".
Summoned in March and April to be re-examined by the magistrates of the CJR, he had refused to answer their questions.
