The former head of government was heard by the Court of Justice of the Republic on Friday, on the fifth day of the minister’s trial for “illegal taking of interests”.
He is one of the key defense witnesses for the Minister of Justice. Former Prime Minister Jean Castex, now head of the RATP, was heard by the Court of Justice of the Republic (CJR), Friday November 10, on the fifth day of the trial of Eric Dupond-Moretti for “illegal taking of interest.”
The hearing of the former head of government was expected to shed light on two central, and almost contradictory, questions in the debates: why did he not assume the responsibility himself, upon the appointment of ‘Eric Dupond-Moretti at the Chancellery in July 2020, sensitive files targeting magistrates with whom the criminal lawyer had been in conflict? And this “deportation decree” towards Matignon, finally taken four months later, on October 23, 2020, does it not constitute an admission of the conflict of interest situation in which the former lawyer found himself?
“What would illegal taking of interest be?”
To answer these two questions, Jean Castex put on his Prime Minister’s hat during his hearing. “The superior interest of the State” and of “Justice” slung over his shoulder, he said “solemnly” before the CJR that he “appeared not necessary to issue a deportation decree” immediately. When he formed his government in June 2020, the head of government, newly appointed to Matignon, did not ignore a “subject” potentially explosive: the internal investigation carried out by the general inspectorate of justice into three magistrates of the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF) in a political-financial affair with drawers – the affair of the fadettes, itself included in the Paul affair Bismuth, itself involved in the issue of Libyan financing of Nicolas Sarkozy’s presidential campaign.
He is also aware that the name of his future Minister of Justice appears in one of the drawers of the case – that of the fadettes. Despite this, Jean Castex did not object to Eric Dupond-Moretti ordering administrative investigations into these magistrates, to follow up on a first report commissioned by his predecessor Nicole Belloubet. The former Prime Minister himself questions the court: “What would it be, the illegal taking of interests of the Keeper of the Seals? To have referred the matter to the general inspectorate of justice, that would mean that he would have done it not out of concern for the general interest but because of his past ?”
For the ex-tenant of Matignon, it was only Anticor’s complaint against Eric Dupond-Moretti that triggered the deportation. “The process of renewing the approval of this association was underway. The minister would not have been able to instruct it”, he argues. Defending himself from“be the lawyer” of the Keeper of the Seals, Jean Castex still takes responsibility for having finally initiated disciplinary proceedings against the PNF magistrates before the Superior Council of the Judiciary (CSM). The current boss of the RATP highlights “its flight hours” in managerial matters: “There was behavior that was not normal” within the PNF. And the old “servant of the state” vigorously denies possible political interference in matters managed by the national financial prosecutor’s office.
“I am not sensitive to pressure, I am not the instrument of some plot, I have a lot of respect for the PNF and the judicial authority, if there are dysfunctions it is better that ‘they be purged.’
Jean Castex, former Prime Ministerbefore the Court of Justice of the Republic
After Jean Castex, his former justice advisor at Matignon, Stéphane Hardouin, will nevertheless evoke at the bar the fear, at that time, of a “critical” around a “interfering executive” in the files of the financial prosecutor’s office. The current prosecutor of Créteil (Val-de-Marne) confesses that he was not “not very comfortable” with the option of an internal investigation – the launching by the Minister of Justice of administrative investigations into magistrates – and that he “pushed” for the CSM to take care of it, for “put some distance”. This was without taking into account the refusal of the president of the CSM at the time, François Molins, who explained it at length on Thursday at the hearing.
“Illegal taking of interests is doing but also not doing”
For the prosecution, this desire to seize the CSM from the start demonstrates the knowledge, by the power in place and Eric Dupond-Moretti himself, of the conflict of interest situation in which he found himself. As a reminder, the offense of illegal taking of interests does not imply that its author had the intention to defraud. Guilty intent is characterized “by the sole fact that the perpetrator knowingly performed the act constituting the material element of the crime”as detailed in a judgment of the Court of Cassation in 2002.
“The investigations I ordered [sur les magistrats] were very helpful”retorts the minister-defendant, invited, as every day, to comment on the statements of the witnesses. “Illegal taking of interests is doing but it is also not doing”continues Eric Dupond-Moretti, emphasizing that if he had decided not to order administrative investigations into magistrates with whom he “got mesh from” when he was a lawyer, “preferring cowardice to the loyalty of knowing what had happened”, “we [lui] would also have accused an illegal taking of interests”.
“Not doing it while saying ‘I’m scared’ is also an illegal taking of interests. Whether I do it or not, I’m in trouble.”
Eric Dupond-Moretti, Minister of JusticeBefore the Court of Justice of the Republic
“I hope that the Minister of Justice is not in the trap, he has the right to impartial justice”, came to his rescue Jean Castex, addressing the CJR judgment panel, made up of deputies and senators from the opposition and the majority. But in this unprecedented and historic trial, where witnesses from Eric Dupond-Moretti’s political entourage sometimes find themselves in a delicate position, the former head of government does not forget to ensure his own defense above all: “The only thing I can’t imaginehe repeats with emphasis before leaving the courtroom, it is that the Prime Minister was the tool for settling scores against an eminent body that is justice, which the Republic so needs.”