Update: Alba Iulia Prosecutor’s Office says no file signed by Prosecutor General on Iohannis. Lazar vs. Toader row

Alba Iulia Prosecutor’s Office shows that Prosecutor General, Augustin Lazar, did not solve and did not confirm any file on the name of the President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis.

The Alba Iulia Prosecutor’s Office statements were made on Friday upon the request of ziare.com.

One of Justice Minister Tudorel Toader’s serious charges, when calling for the revocation of the Prosecutor General, was that Augustin Lazar’s appointment was allegedly based on the closing down of a file on Klaus Iohannis.

According to the reply received from the Prosecutor’s Office upon the Alba Iulia Court of Appeals, during 2007-2018, nine files were found regarding Klaus Iohannis, with closing down solutions. “None of the files was identified or confirmed as solved by the Prosecutor General Augustin Lazar,” the prosecutors’ message to ziare.com reads.

The answer is signed by Pamfil Mugurel, Chief Prosecutor of the Criminal Investigation Section with the Prosecutor’s Office upon the Alba Iulia Court of Appeals.

Augustin Lazar has held several leading positions within the Alba Iulia Prosecutor’s Office: Deputy Prosecutor General (2009-2013) and Prosecutor General (2013-2016).

Augustin Lazar vs. Tudorel Toader

Prosecutor General Augustin Lazar and Justice Minister Tudorel Toader have embarked on a real confrontation about the existence of a closing down order in a file concerning Klaus Iohannis.

Augustin Lazar has argued on Friday that he has not handled any files of President Klaus Iohannis. Moreover, Lazar added, for Realitatea TV private broadcaster, that he asked for information from the Superior Council of Magistracy (CSM), if there was any such work in the professional map, and the answer was ‘no’.

On the other hand, Toader announced that he will publish in the next few days the close down resolution on the file referring to Klaus Iohannis, which he found in Augustin Lazar’s candidacy file for Prosecutor General.

Minister Toader presented on Wednesday an assessment report of Lazar’s activity as Prosecutor General, containing 20 reasons to have him revoked. Above all, Toader claims that Lazar has been appointed by President Iohannis without a preliminary evaluation, upon the proposal of the Justice minister back then, Raluca Pruna. Moreover, the Justice Minister argues the file proposing Lazar contained a resolution to dismiss a file which targeted President Iohannis himself.

“President Iohanis signed the appointment in the PG seat on April 27, 2016, without having the evaluation of his professional performance criteria. So, it means the Justice Minister back then has made the proposal for the PG position without observing the legal procedures and criteria. The Romanian President did not check the legality of the evaluation (…) Why the Justice minister at that time has sent the incomplete file? (…) we don’t think the appointment has to do something with one of the documents attached to the candidature file where there is a resolution issued by Lazar for dismissal of one files related to the incumbent Romania’s President,” Toader said.

Augustin Lazar was named as Prosecutor General on April 28, 2016, by president Klaus Iohannis, upon the proposal of former Justice Minister, Raluca Pruna.