In the case of twins, CPI suspends communication requests until PGR responds.

The parliamentary commission investigating the twins’ case suspended all communications requests this Friday until it receives a response from the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) in a meeting marked by accusations against Chegi of “abuse of protestative rights.”

The PS and PSD’s requests to suspend the procedures regarding requests for all communications until the PGR’s response was received received positive votes from all political parties, with the exception of Çega, which has protestative rights in relation to the parliamentary commission of inquiry.

Before the meeting, the president of the commission of inquiry, Rui Paulo Sousa, said that the suspension “has no practical effect, because those messages, those who wanted to send them, have already sent them, those who did not want to send them, have given reasons why they did not send them,” including the secrecy of justice.

The chairman of the commission investigating the twins said the suspension “calls into question the potential power of the party that initiated the commission” and “sets a precedent for future commissions,” arguing that it therefore limits “the functioning of the commission itself.”

At a commission meeting, before the hearing of former Secretary of State for Portuguese Communities Berta Nunes, PSD coordinator António Rodrigues said that “to some, this seems like a second round of political struggle that they want to carry out and transform the parliamentary commission of inquiry and not pursue the objectives for which it was created.”

“And therefore, as far as the legal right is concerned, the consequence is that if someone asks for an opinion that is effective for the functioning of a parliamentary committee, it is obvious that the communications cannot be part of the public domain or at least expose the members of the committee before we receive an answer on the matter,” he stressed.

For his part, PS coordinator João Paulo Correia recalled that “all parties” had already agreed to request the opinion of the legal auditor of the Assembly of the Republic, stating that “the positive law cannot do everything.”

“There are limitations to the right of protest. The consensus reached by the parties was to request access to the messages of individuals on a voluntary basis,” he said, recalling that in the parliamentary commission investigating TAP last year, “a mobile phone and access to messages were provided voluntarily.”

Chega leader André Ventura noted that it was “unacceptable” that the President of the Assembly of the Republic, José Pedro Aguiar-Branco, asked the PGR for an opinion “without providing the commission with any information.”

“Frankly, it seems to us that such behavior on the part of the President of the Assembly of the Republic is unreasonable and uninstitutional. The potestative is also a right, as is this communication with the request, this is the exercise of the potestative right. It is correct,” he said.

“Point one: the inquiry commission does not need the President of the Assembly of the Republic. Point two: it is not the President of the Assembly of the Republic who submits requests for the establishment of an inquiry commission. Point three: it is not the President of the Assembly of the Republic who decides what is done in the parliamentary inquiry commission,” he added.

Isabel Moreira of the PS believes that there is a “clear abuse of Chega’s potestative right”.

“Believing that this is a potestative right, that you can ask for anything. This potestative right is a very clear example of abuse of the right. This is a very clear example of abuse of the right,” he said.

The socialist added that the investigation commission cannot demand correspondence from anyone.