Joaquim Pinto Moreira asks to suspend the parliamentary mandate of the PSD

PSD MP Joaquim Pinto Moreira announced on Monday that he would demand a suspension of his parliamentary mandate once the removal of parliamentary immunity was completed, saying it did not amount to “any admission of guilt.”

The request to waive the parliamentary immunity of the PSD MP Joaquim Pinto Moreira, who became the object of searches as part of Operation Whirlwind, has already been submitted to the Assembly of the Republic.

“At the time, I also announced that if and when the opportunity presents itself, I will draw political conclusions in order to preserve my party and its leadership, and the subsequent constitution of the defendant, I will suspend my mandate as a deputy in the Assembly of the Republic. “, he said in a statement.

Pinto Moreira cites that this request for a suspension does not mean “any admission of guilt in the relevant process”, but because he believes that he does not have “the right to disrupt the normal functioning of the political work” of his party “and its top officials “.

Joaquim Pinto Moreira refers to having learned that “the Assembly of the Republic has been asked to waive his parliamentary immunity (…) so that he can be recognized as an accused and, as such, questioned in an investigation already open.” .

“As I stated earlier, not only will I not object to such a request, but I will ask that it be carried out quickly. I am fully interested in providing all the clarifications that must be carried out within the framework of the said investigation.” , he refers.

The deputy adds that he considers these clarifications necessary to prove his “complete innocence in the face of the alleged charges against him.”

“Therefore, I want to cooperate with the judiciary and wish that justice will reveal the whole truth with the speed that the suspicions under consideration require. My social and professional life with high ethical and moral standards,” he repeats.

The news of the request to waive parliamentary immunity was put forward by CNN Portugal and a parliamentary source confirmed to Lusa that the MP in question is Joaquim Pinto Moreira, who recently stepped down as Vice President of the Social Democratic Parliamentary Group.

Opinion on this request is to be circulated for clarification at the committee meeting scheduled for Wednesday.

Joaquim Pinto Moreira recently resigned as Vice President of the Social Democratic Parliamentary Group and Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee for Constitutional Review after he was the target of a house raid as part of Operation Whirlwind.

This operation led to the arrest at the beginning of the month of the then mayor of Espinho, Miguel Reis (PS), who had meanwhile resigned from his mandate, an employee of the latter and three businessmen on suspicion. active and passive corruption, evasiveness, abuse of power and influence peddling in Operation Whirlwind.

As part of this operation, the residence of Joaquim Pinto Moreira, the former mayor of Espinho from 2009 to 2021, was also searched and his computer and mobile phone were seized.

Joaquim José Pinto Moreira was first elected as an MP in the 2022 legislative elections, becoming Vice President of the Social Democratic Bench under Joaquim Miranda Sarmento after Luis Montenegro took over as SDP President.

According to the Statute of Deputies, parliamentarians may request the temporary suspension of the President of the Assembly of the Republic for a reason they consider appropriate (beginning with illness, good reasons of a family, personal, professional or academic nature, or even “the need to provide support for the criminal process” in which he is accused, and in some cases even forced suspension), for a period not exceeding six months in each legislature.