With the announced absence of federal prosecutor
Carlos Stornelli, who anticipated that he will not attend personally and will present in writing
, the Impeachment Committee of the Chamber of Deputies resumed this Tuesday the process against the members of the Supreme Court of Justice, an onslaught promoted by the Government with the support of a group of Peronist governors.
At the beginning of the hearing, Carolina Gaillard, head of the Impeachment Committee, reported that prosecutor Stornelli had requested a written statement based on an article that regulates the operation of the Public Ministry.
But from Deputies she was answered that "this exception does not apply" because, according to her, she explained, "it is not provided for in the regulations of this chamber."
"Dr. Stornelli has to testify in person and we are going to summon him again," announced Gaillard, who added that "if he does not appear and is a reticent witness, we will have to initiate the process of impeachment to be able to summon him and bring him by the public force."
Stornelli had been summoned as a witness to explain the reasons why he requested the closure of the case that had been initiated to investigate the alleged leaked chats between Silvio Robles, Horacio Rosatti's secretary, and the Buenos Aires Minister of Security
on
license
Marcelo D'Alessandro
.
For his part, Juan Manuel López, from the Civic Coalition, came to the crossroads of Gaillard's arguments and warned him that "he cannot make an interpretation of the regulation."
And he justified Stornelli's decision not to appear and request a written statement.
"It corresponds to apply the provisions of the Organic Law of the Public Ministry," stressed the deputy, who indicated that legislators and magistrates are protected by privileges and should be given the possibility of declaring in writing.
Rodolfo Tailhade, one of the judicial and intelligence operators of Cristina Kirchner
's closest entourage
, defined it as
"an institutional embarrassment"
that the prosecutor does not expose in person before the Impeachment Committee.
"Stornelli does not want to give any explanation or account for his actions. He is an institutional embarrassment," said the ultra K deputy in statements to AM 750 radio.
"That privilege does not correspond in the framework of a political trial. He has to come. The only ones authorized to testify in writing are the President, the Vice President, the governors and the lieutenant governors. Afterwards, everyone has to come," he said.
Although the Political Trial Commission can send the public force to look for the witnesses, in this case
Stornelli is protected by the jurisdiction
of the prosecutor.
The commission continues with the analysis of the evidence and testimonies as part of the hearings it has been carrying out since the end of January, when at the request of President Alberto Fernández the extraordinary process was opened against judges Rosatti -head of the highest court-, Carlos Rosenkrantz , Juan Carlos Maqueda and Ricardo Lorenzetti.
For this meeting, the head of the federal prosecutor's office 1 of La Plata, María Roteta, had also been summoned, who asked that her summons be rescheduled.
In addition, the judicial secretary number 4 of the Court, Sergio Nápoli, and the former national senator for the UCR and former head of the AMIA Fiscal Unit, Mario Cimadevilla, who has been critical of the Supreme Court, will testify as witnesses.
Last week there was no meeting of the commission since it was decided to postpone the call in such a way as to be able to send and wait for responses from the official letters to the new witnesses, who from now on will be grouped in batches of four or five to prevent them from being there are long days, like the last one, which exceeded seven and a half hours.
It is not ruled out that in this hearing the authorities of the commission request that the statements before that body of federal judge Sebastián Ramos be sent to Justice "so that it can be evaluated if there was false testimony."
Ramos, together with Judge Alejo Ramos Padilla, gave testimony on February 23 before the Impeachment Commission, in the first of the testimonial hearings.
Ramos was the one who filed from the federal courts of Comodoro Py, and at the request of Stornelli, a complaint related to alleged chats involving D'Alessandro with Robles, arguing that the evidence included in the complaint could have been obtained " through organized maneuvers based on illegal intelligence activities".
Horacio Rosatti broke the silence and spoke of the impeachment of the Supreme Court
The president of the Supreme Court, Horacio Rosatti, spoke of the political trial promoted by Kirchnerism in Deputies.
"We are witnessing this situation and we will bear it as we consider at all times," said Rosatti, who called for the independence of the Judiciary for the "strengthening of democracy."
"I would prefer not to comment, because perhaps we are called to comment at another time on the accusations that may be made specifically for each of us. For now, we are witnessing this situation and we will cope with it as we consider at all times, "he replied. at first, although later he deepened his position.
"Judges cannot be judged by their sentences," he stressed when cross-examined.
"Whether in this case it is due to the content of the sentence or not, at the time this will be resolved. First, the Court of no court of Justice invents a case; the case comes to it. It is not that one says 'I get up and I I'm going to mess with another State power', but there are cases and causes that arrive. The Court acts because they ask it to act."
He expanded his vision and spoke of "contradictions" in the critics of the highest court.
"What cannot be said, after having requested the action, is: 'You are not competent for this, because it is of a political nature'. So, it is not understood or there is a contradiction in why I knock on the door and ask for justice and I say that whoever is answering me is not empowered to do so, when in reality I was the one who knocked on the door," Rosatti said.
He maintained that in every judicial process "there is someone who feels they have lost and is always dissatisfied", but insisted: "You are not here to ingratiate yourself."
Likewise, he separated so many and stressed that the procedure promoted by Kirchnerism in Congress is "against the Court" and not against the Judiciary as a whole.
"Technically it is a trial of the Court. The prosecution of judges who are not from the Court has another procedure in the Council of the Magistracy," he explained.
Seconds later, he doubled down on his message of calm for the judges: "There is a broadly majority climate, where the judges feel supported to freely apply the Constitution."
In any case, he immediately added: "I am not going to ignore that it is a climate that has its convulsion, yes. But there is a general awareness that we are at a time where the strengthening of democracy requires the independence of the Judiciary. We need powers strong and an even stronger society".
look also
After a revelation by Clarín: the opposition asks Tolosa Paz for explanations for the million-dollar transfers to a kindergarten
Víctor Hugo Morales spoke about his abrupt departure from C5N: "The channel made me an offer that did not give me any joy"