No disciplinary sanction was claimed on Tuesday against the former national financial prosecutor Eliane Houlette even if the public prosecutor considers that she failed in "her duty of impartiality" because of two past conflicts of interest.
Before the Superior Council of the Judiciary (CSM), the representative of the executive Paul Huber considered that this breach could not give rise to a sanction, in particular because it had been committed before the retirement of Ms. Houlette in mid -2019.
The other two grievances against him, one of which was linked to the "fadettes" affair, are not characterized, said Paul Huber.
“We walk on the head”, reacted one of his lawyers Jean-Pierre Versini-Campinchi, “shocked” by the conclusions of the representative of the executive.
Former head of the National Financial Prosecutor's Office (PNF), Eliane Houlette has been appearing since Monday before the disciplinary body of magistrates in a procedure which is worth to its initiator, the Keeper of the Seals Eric Dupond-Moretti, to be indicted for "illegal seizures of interests”.
Three grievances are addressed to the former magistrate, of whom Paul Huber praised the "efforts" having enabled the PNF to be "sustainably registered in the landscape of Tança".
"Not constituted"
The first relates to its management of the investigation which had led to peeling the telephone statements of tenors of the bar to identify a mole in the business of corruption of the listenings involving Mr. Sarkozy.
Ms. Houlette was accused of not having informed her supervisory authority.
“This grievance is not established,” Mr. Huber decided, adding that the same was true of the “brutal” management accusations against Ms. Houlette.
On the other hand, he argued, the former head of the PNF failed in his "duty of impartiality, but also of prudence and loyalty" because of conflicts of interest.
At the end of her term, Ms. Houlette had discussions with a lawyer about an investigation conducted by the PNF.
She had, moreover, not informed her teams that her daughter worked in a firm in which one of the partners appeared on the sidelines of a file supervised by this prosecution.
To justify the absence of sanctions, Mr. Huber also highlighted the fact that these alleged breaches were known before the retirement of Ms. Houlette and had not then given rise to any disciplinary procedure.
