Rosário Teixeira insists prosecutors “have no interest in toppling governments”
In a week where former culture minister Pedro Adão e Silva suggested ‘Operation Influencer’ – and all its fall-out – was more of a ‘coup d’état’ than a genuine investigation by public prosecutors, top prosecutor Rosário Teixeira has gone on record saying the very notion is “absurd”.
“The Public Prosecutor’s Office has no interest in bringing down governments, nor is it part of its role to generate these political consequences,” he told SIC’s Jornal da Noite, guaranteeing that “this did not happen” in either of the cases that led to the fall of António Costa’s government and the collapse of the regional executive in Madeira.
“Purely and simply, there were endeavours to gather evidence, there were situations of collateral arrests, sometimes with political power itself,” which “generated these consequences that were not wanted, intended nor requested by the Public Prosecutor’s Office itself,” he said.
The fact also that investigations can have political impacts “should not restrict the Public Prosecutor’s Office from acting”, he added.
A certain positive coming out of the interview was that former prime minister António Costa is not likely to receive any censure from the Operation Influencer brief – basically because he is not an ‘arguido’ (official suspect).
If a citizen is heard as a witness, not a defendant, that is because that citizen is not a suspect, Rosário Teixeira told his interviewer. “Because if they are a suspect in that case, they can’t avoid being made a defendant”.
Asked whether the other 26 member states of the European Union “had inside information” about this before Mr Costa was elected president of the European Council last week, he said ‘no’, adding: “Maybe they had a correct reading of what the Portuguese legal reality is.”
With regard to a government official (like former Socialist minister João Galamba) having his personal phone ‘tapped’ for years, as part of the Influencer investigation, the prosecutor did not seem to think this was disproportionate, either. Listening “depends on the specific situation”, he said. “These are complex realities, very exceptional.”
At a moment when knives would appear to be very much out for the current Attorney General Lucilia Gago – due to conclude her mandate in October – Rosário Teixeira also denied that the Public Prosecutor’s Office is “an undisciplined judiciary”, working against politicians.
“The idea that the Public Prosecutor’s Office has any political commitment is total nonsense. There is no pooling of political will, it’s absurd to impute that to the Public Prosecutor’s Office,” he said.
The ‘Manifesto for Reform in Justice’, initially presented by 50 signatories from different parts of society and which has since been joined by another 50 personalities, saw him stress that reform should not be something that is “carried out against someone” but rather something that is done with everyone.
Inference during the interview was that this man could be the prosecutor who ultimately takes the place vacated in a few months time by Ms Gago. The possibility, said Rosário Teixeira “hasn’t even crossed my mind”, albeit he would like to see someone promoted to the role from within the Public Prosecutor’s Office. ND
Source material: Lusa
