The Keeper of the Seals Éric Dupond-Moretti filed a new motion for recusal of the magistrates of the Court of Justice of the Republic, accusing them of having consulted a third party on a procedural question in the investigation targeting him, learned Thursday, January 27 AFP from concordant sources.
According to these sources, this motion for recusal was filed Friday with the first president of the Court of Cassation, as well as a request for suspension of the judicial information opened against the Minister of Justice, indicted for "
illegal taking of interest
" since July 2021.
Read alsoSuspicions of conflict of interest: the appeal of Éric Dupond-Moretti put on hold
The defense of Éric Dupond-Moretti criticizes the three magistrates of the CJR's investigation committee for having asked his opinion of Henri-Claude Le Gall, retired honorary magistrate and former president of the CJR from 2000 to 2012, on the procedure to follow concerning motions for nullity filed by the Minister.
In an interview published in the December issue of AJ Pénal de Dalloz, Henri-Claude Le Gall had indicated that he had recently been "
heard by the investigating committee
" to find out whether it should "
decide immediately
" or "
wait the end of education
”.
"It's worrying"
“
We were not aware of this intervention and do not know to what extent Henri-Claude Le Gall participated in the decision. It's worrying
, "reacted to AFP Me Christophe Ingrain and Rémi Lorrain, who defend the Keeper of the Seals. “
The investigating committee cannot base its decisions on the opinion of a third party, even a retired magistrate. Collegiality is not a station hall, it is not open to third parties
,” they added.
Asked by AFP, Henri-Claude Le Gall explained that he was "
consulted
" by the magistrates of the CJR to give "
only technical
" advice on a "
purely procedural
" question. "
I would have given the same answer in another file (...). I did not get involved in the substance of the problem
, ”he detailed, claiming to be consulted every day by magistrates, in particular for the assizes. "
I was not interviewed by the commission, it was an inappropriate word
," he said.
Contacted by AFP, the president of the commission of instruction of the CJR Janine Drai did not follow up.
Éric Dupond-Moretti had already tried to challenge the magistrates in a previous request, which was rejected at the end of October.
The CJR is the only jurisdiction empowered to prosecute and judge members of the government for offenses committed in the exercise of their functions.
