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| Accusations ‘Grotesque,’ Sarkozy Says Of Inquiry | |
| (35 minutes 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, saying again that he is innocent 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 on Tuesday and then make him a target of their inquiry after months during which they 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. |
| Calling the accusations “grotesque,” he expressed anger that his private conversations had been 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. | |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| “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 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. | 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. |
| 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. |
| The case against him 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. |