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Sarkozy Lashes Out at Prosecution in Corruption Case
Accusations ‘Grotesque,’ Says Sarkozy Of Inquiry
(about 4 hours later)
PARIS — Hours after being put under formal investigation in a corruption and influence-peddling case, Nicolas Sarkozy, the former president of France, lashed out at the prosecution on Wednesday, restating his innocence and expressing outrage at a case he said was being manipulated for political ends.
PARIS — Hours after being put under formal investigation in a corruption and influence-peddling case, Nicolas Sarkozy, the former president of France, lashed out at the prosecution on Wednesday, restating his innocence and expressing outrage at a case he said was being manipulated for political ends.
“I am profoundly shocked by what happened,” Mr. Sarkozy told the French broadcaster TF1, referring to the decision by anticorruption investigators to take him into custody for questioning Tuesday and then make him a target of their inquiry after months in which they had tapped his phone, examined his dealings with a prominent judge and investigated his 2007 campaign finances.
“I am profoundly shocked by what happened,” Mr. Sarkozy told the French broadcaster TF1, referring to the decision by anticorruption investigators to take him into custody for questioning Tuesday and then make him a target of their inquiry after months in which they had tapped his telephone, examined his dealings with a prominent judge and investigated his 2007 campaign finances.
“The situation was sufficiently grave for me to tell the French people about the political exploitation of a part of the justice system today,” said Mr. Sarkozy, who was defeated for re-election in 2012 but has been considering a comeback.
“The situation was sufficiently grave for me to tell the French people about the political exploitation of a part of the justice system today,” said Mr. Sarkozy, who was defeated for re-election in 2012 but has been considering a comeback.
Appearing combative and calling the accusations “preposterous,” Mr. Sarkozy expressed anger that his private conversations were secretly recorded by investigators, and he suggested that he was being treated unfairly.
Calling the accusations “grotesque,” Mr. Sarkozy expressed anger that his private conversations were secretly recorded by investigators. He suggested that he was being treated unfairly. “Is it normal?” he asked, that he was kept for 15 hours in a police station before being taken to see two judges at 2 a.m. on Wednesday in the company of several police officers.
“Is it normal?” he asked, that he was kept for 15 hours in a police station before being taken to see two judges at 2 a.m. on Wednesday in the company of several police officers.
His comments underscored the high political stakes in the case, which comes as the Socialist Party of President François Hollande faces evaporating public support, Mr. Sarkozy’s center-right allies are in disarray, and the far-right National Front is moving to fill the electoral vacuum.
He denied any wrongdoing, saying he had never committed an illegal act and that he would decide on his political future by the end of August or the beginning of September.
The decision to open a formal inquiry suggests that investigators believe they have enough evidence to link Mr. Sarkozy to a crime, legal experts said. Prime Minister Manuel Valls, in an interview before Mr. Sarkozy’s televised remarks, characterized the investigation as fair and suggested that the former president could not consider himself above the law.
“Everything is being done to produce an image of me that doesn’t correspond to truth,” he said.
His comments in the nationally televised broadcast underscored the high political stakes in the case, which comes as the Socialist Party of President François Hollande faces evaporating public support, Mr. Sarkozy’s center-right allies are in disarray, and the far-right National Front is moving in to fill the electoral vacuum.
Prime Minister Manuel Valls, in an interview ahead of Mr. Sarkozy’s televised remarks, characterized the investigation as fair and suggested that the former president could not consider himself above the law.
“This situation is serious, the facts are grave,” Mr. Valls told BFM television. “As head of the government, I’m asking that we recall the independence of the justice system, which must carry out its work serenely.”
“This situation is serious, the facts are grave,” Mr. Valls told BFM television. “As head of the government, I’m asking that we recall the independence of the justice system, which must carry out its work serenely.”
The decision to open a formal investigation of Mr. Sarkozy suggests that investigators believe that they have enough evidence to link him to a crime, legal experts said. Under the French criminal justice system, a formal investigation is led by an investigating judge and can take months.
The anticorruption authorities are looking into whether Mr. Sarkozy, aided by his lawyer, Thierry Herzog, sought to obtain information from an appeals court judge, Gilbert Azibert, about an inquiry into the financing of Mr. Sarkozy’s 2007 election campaign as well as other investigations. Mr. Sarkozy has been dogged by the accusation that the campaign received up to 50 million euros, or about $68 million, in illegal funds from Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi of Libya. Investigators are also looking into whether Mr. Azibert fed Mr. Sarkozy information and whether in return he was promised a post in Monaco.
If the investigative judge in Mr. Sarkozy’s case determines that there is sufficient evidence to charge him, he could face trial for influence-peddling and abuse of power.
The latest twist in a case that has gripped France came a day after Mr. Sarkozy was held for what news agencies reported was 15 hours of questioning by the police. He was later taken to a Paris court to meet with investigators and released after midnight, the French news media said.
The anticorruption authorities in France are looking into whether Mr. Sarkozy, aided by his lawyer, Thierry Herzog, sought to obtain information from an influential appeals court judge, Gilbert Azibert, about investigations into Mr. Sarkozy, including an inquiry into the financing of his 2007 election campaign. Mr. Sarkozy has been dogged by the accusation that his campaign received up to 50 million euros, or about $68 million, in illegal funds from Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi of Libya. Investigators are also investigating whether Mr. Azibert fed Mr. Sarkozy information and whether in return he was promised a post in Monaco.
Mr. Sarkozy, 59, is the first former president in modern France to be detained and questioned in police custody. While maintaining his innocence, he said Wednesday that he would take full responsibility for his actions.
Mr. Sarkozy, 59, is the first former president in modern France to be detained and questioned in police custody. While maintaining his innocence, he said Wednesday that he would take full responsibility for his actions.
“I am asking for no privilege,” he said. “And if I have committed errors, I will assume the consequences. I am not a man who flees his responsibilities.”
The case against appears to hinge on secretly recorded conversations made after investigators began tapping the phones of Mr. Sarkozy, Mr. Herzog and two of Mr. Sarkozy’s former ministers more than a year ago. Mr. Sarkozy’s defenders say he was merely engaging in the kind of networking common in the cozy world of French politics.
Mr. Sarkozy has compared those who have pursued him and wiretapped his phone to the Stasi, the dreaded secret police in communist-era East Germany. While his critics accuse him of abusing his power, Mr. Sarkozy’s defenders say he was merely engaging in the kind of networking common in the cozy world of French politics.
The developments dealt a further blow to hopes of a political comeback by Mr. Sarkozy, who has been urged by his supporters to run for president in 2017 and who as a practical matter would need to begin trying to retake control of his party and start building the foundations for a campaign by the end of this year. In the interview, Mr. Sarkozy said he would decide whether to make another presidential run by the end of August or the beginning of September.
Abuse of power is punishable under French law by five years in prison and a fine of as much as 500,000 euros, or $684,000. If found guilty, Mr. Sarkozy could also be barred from holding public office, or excluded from running for election for a limited period.
The case against Mr. Sarkozy appears to hinge on secretly recorded conversations made after investigators began tapping the phones of Mr. Sarkozy, Mr. Herzog and two of Mr. Sarkozy’s former ministers more than a year ago.
Mr. Herzog’s lawyer, Paul-Albert Iweins, challenged the legitimacy of the case on Wednesday because much of the evidence appears to have been acquired via electronic eavesdropping. Critics of the government’s case say that approach violates attorney-client privilege.
“The facts in this case rest on wiretapped conversations whose legality we challenge and which we will strongly fight against,” he was quoted saying by Libération, a leading French newspaper.
Mr. Herzog and Mr. Azibert have also been questioned in connection with the case.
Mr. Sarkozy has faced a series of legal proceedings and investigations since leaving office a little more than two years ago. Yet with no other high-profile leader emerging on the center-right, Mr. Sarkozy has done nothing to dampen speculation that he intended to seek the presidency again, a prospect that has grown more credible as Mr. Hollande’s political woes have grown.
Although the accusations against Mr. Sarkozy are clearly serious, the French have a history of forgiving and forgetting when it comes to the moral and legal transgressions of their political leaders.
Alain Juppé, a former prime minister of France from Mr. Sarkozy’s Union for a Popular Movement, has had a remarkable resurrection after a criminal conviction in 2004 for misusing public funds. He is now one of France’s most popular politicians, cited as a possible presidential candidate and widely admired for his achievements as the mayor of Bordeaux.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former head of the International Monetary Fund whose career has been buffeted by a series of sex scandals, has sought to revive his political career by focusing on his work as a leading international economist. Although it remains to be seen whether Mr. Strauss-Kahn, a Socialist, will ever hold elective office again, he has been on French television discussing the economy.
“I am dismayed by the nature of the French citizen,” said Jérôme Karsenti, a leading lawyer specializing in corruption. “I am convinced that there is a form of amnesia in this country, with each scandal erasing the memory of the previous one. There is tolerance in the national psychology that politicians are by nature corrupt.”
Mr. Juppé has defended Mr. Sarkozy and posted support on Twitter for the embattled ex-president: “His defense will show he is innocent, I hope.”
