Justice Minister Tudorel Toader has met PM Viorica Dancila at Victoria Palace on Monday, with G4Media.ro reporting that the meeting comes one day before the government sitting and amid growing debates on the imminent emergency ordinance on amnesty and pardon.
„Official sources told G4Media.ro that the PSD chairman is insisting on the adoption of a government emergency ordinance on amnesty and pardon in Tuesday’s government sitting. According to the same sources, Justice Minister Tudorel Toader intends to delegate his powers to secretary of state Mariana Mot, an acquaintance of deputy PM Paul Stanescu, who is part of the hard-core supporters of Liviu Dragnea,” the journalists write.
G4Media.ro also reports that Stanescu has also signed the address to the Parliament that proposed a new definition of the abuse of office, which practically helps Liviu Dragnea avoid criminal charges in the file where he had been sentenced to 3.5 years in prison for abuse of office.
However,PSD chairman Liviu Dragnea denied few hours later that the Executive would eye adopting such an emergency ordinance on pardon and amnesty in its Tuesday’s sitting, reminding that PM Dancila and Justice minister Toader had dismissed rumors in this regard.
“I asked Mrs. premier and Mr. Justice minister if there is any intention to adopted a GEO on pardon in tomorrow’s Gov’t sitting and they both denied these rumors in the public space,” Dragnea told Digi24.
Justice minister Toader had indeed denied there would be a debate to discuss or to give an opinion about an emergency ordinance on amnesty and pardon.
Asked at the Gov’t HQ what he had discussed with the prime minister, Toader replied: “The topic of discussion – I informed Mrs. premier about the recently ended Justice and Home Affairs council, but most important, we discussed about preparations in the view of taking over the presidency of the JHA Council.”
Also questioned if they also talked about an emergency ordinance on amnesty and pardon, Toader said: “Let’s not talk about hypothetical situations. There is no such thing at the Justice Ministry, neither under discussion nor pending an opinion“.
In his turn, ALDE spokesperson, deputy Varujan Vosganian has said that his party is not the promoter of an emergency ordinance on amnesty and pardon.