Eric Dupond-Moretti speaks. The former lawyer appointed Minister of Justice in July 2020, is questioned, Tuesday, November 7, by the Court of Justice of the Republic, on the second day of his trial for “illegal taking of interests”. Suspected of having used his position in the government to settle scores with four magistrates with whom he had disputes when he was a lawyer, he is the first serving Minister of Justice to be tried. He faces five years of imprisonment, a fine of 500,000 euros and an additional penalty of ineligibility and prohibition from holding public office. The hearing begins at 9 a.m. Follow our live stream.
“This trial is an infamy.” During the first day of the hearing, Monday, Eric Dupond-Moretti warned that he would defend himself “firmly” against the “lies, untruths, and insults”. “I would like to briefly tell you what state of mind I find myself in before you”launched the Minister of Justice at the bar, “for me and for my loved ones, this trial is an infamy”. “It’s of course a challenge but it’s also a relief because I came to defend myself”he added, arguing that we had “trampled [sa] presumption of innocence.” “Naturally”, he concluded, “I will answer all questions.”
Around twenty witnesses called to testify. Around twenty witnesses will be called to the stand during the trial, scheduled until November 16. Among them, the former Minister of Justice Nicole Belloubet, present in the room at the opening of the hearing, the former Prime Minister Jean Castex or the former attorney general at the Court of Cassation, François Molins.
Two separate cases. Eric Dupond-Moretti is suspected of having used his position as Minister of Justice to settle scores with magistrates, in two cases in which he acted as a lawyer. In one of them, he is accused of having ordered an administrative investigation against three magistrates of the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF), when he had strongly criticized the decision of the PNF, on the sidelines of the Bismuth affair. The other case concerns an administrative investigation carried out against Edouard Levrault, a judge seconded to Monaco, against whom Eric Dupond-Moretti had filed a complaint on behalf of a client for violation of the secrecy of the investigation.