Prime Minister António Costa said this Wednesday that he would not comment on the searches against the PSD headquarters and some of the party’s deputies, including former leader Rui Rio. “I leave to justice what belongs to justice,” he began with an explanation.
Costa, speaking to reporters after the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, said he trusts justice in Portugal and that no one is exempt from punishment for crimes he has committed. He pleaded the benefit of the doubt and said he would let the authorities do their job.
“You should not put on public display what belongs to the field of justice. I have always fully agreed with Rui Rio when he said that we should not be suing tobacco shops. Let justice work.” there is every reason to trust justice. If there are crimes, they will be properly investigated and punished,” he stressed.
On Wednesday, searches were carried out at the home of former PSD President Rui Rio. The Social Democrat is suspected of hiring advisers and paying through the Assembly of the Republic. The Judicial Police also raided the SDP national headquarters, the SDP headquarters, the SDP district headquarters in Porto, and the homes of Deputy Hugo Carneiro and Florbela Guedes, a longtime adviser to Rui Rio.