The President of the Republic emphasized this Friday that the government must take the initiative and propose, ultimately, the termination of the functions of the Attorney General of the Republic, as well as her appointment, noting that the mandate of Lucília Gago ends in October.
“You know that the government has the initiative to propose termination of the functions of the Prosecutor General of the Republic. Neither the previous nor the current one has ever shown any intention to propose the termination of the functions of the Prosecutor General. General,” Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa told reporters at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon.
The head of state, speaking about the latest developments in Operation Influential Man, repeated that he considers the “hypothesis” of the previous Prime Minister António Costa about the presidency of the European Council to be “more likely or closer.”
When asked if he regretted his statement, he replied: “No, no, no. On the contrary, I think I said what all Portuguese felt.”
Earlier, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa sought to answer those who wonder “how the President of the Republic does not act in relation to the top of the hierarchy of the Ministry of State, which is the Attorney General of the Republic.”
“They know that the mandate of prosecutors is six years and, therefore, the prosecutor took office in 2018 and ceases, ends – because the mandate is not renewed, it is six years – in October of this year. They know that who has the Initiative propose a name belongs to the government. Therefore, the name of the prosecutor was proposed by the prime minister. [na altura, António Costa]after hearing the Minister of Justice,” he said.
The President of the Republic emphasized that “he does not have the constitutional authority, on his own initiative, to terminate or interfere with both the submission of a name and the termination of activities in an initiative for termination of powers.”
In accordance with Article 133 of the Constitution, the President of the Republic is responsible for the appointment and dismissal, on the proposal of the government, of the Prosecutor General of the Republic.
Regarding Operation Influential, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa emphasized that “there is a separation of powers” and therefore “avoids commenting on judicial decisions that fall under the investigation of the prosecutor’s office – this naturally intrudes into the sphere of justice.”
“I believe that I cannot and should not comment on a specific case, and therefore the only comment I made was a general political comment, which said the following: that it seems to me that the hypothesis of the existence of a Portuguese – a Portuguese apparently was the previous Prime Minister – minister – at the head of the European Council,” he continued.
In his opinion, by stating that “on the basis of the most recent evidence he believes that this has become more likely than without the latest evidence”, he was “within the limits of what he could say”.
“That’s all I could say,” he confirmed.
The President of the Republic rejected that this statement was an intervention: “No, this is an analytical judgment.”
When confronted with the fact that the case was not yet closed, he replied: “It is not. That’s why I said it makes it more likely.” [a possibilidade de António Costa vir a presidir ao Conselho Europeu]but not sure if it is safe or definitive.”
“This is an open process that no one should comment on except the courts themselves. In any case, it makes sense, considering several times that it is important for Portugal to have a Portuguese in this role, who said that I now feel more hopeful about the likelihood of this Portuguese reaching this place, “he explained.
Faced with criticism from former Health Minister Marta Temido, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa de-dramatized it: “This is normal in a democracy.”
Regarding demands for clarification from the Attorney General of the Republic, he stated that “the President, perhaps, what he can do within the limits of his powers without intruding on the judicial power, will naturally know how to do it, or already knew, how to do it”. “.
“Let’s let the process unfold, and as the process unfolds, I think it’s not good to have political disagreements over legal proceedings,” he advised, saying he was convinced that “justice always comes to the surface.”
The head of state once again defended the “pact of justice” and expressed the hope to “listen to what the government, which has just taken up its duties, intends to do” in this area.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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