Eric Dupond-Moretti’s defense pleaded, Thursday, November 16, for his release at the end of his unprecedented trial before the Court of Justice of the Republic (CJR), reminding the judges of “the stakes” of their decision: a conviction, even “the lowest”, “would be enough” to result in the resignation of the Minister of Justice. The CJR will deliver its decision on November 29 at 3 p.m.
Before suspending the hearing, the court gave Mr. Dupond-Moretti the floor one last time. “I have nothing to add,” he said on the stand.
On Wednesday, the prosecution requested a one-year suspended prison sentence against him, stating its “conviction” that the Minister of Justice was guilty of the offense of “illegal taking of interests”. The minister is suspected of having used his functions to settle scores with magistrates whom he had criticized when he was a lawyer, which he strongly contests.
These proceedings against the Keeper of the Seals are “unjust”, said his lawyer, Me Jacqueline Laffont, for whom Mr. Dupond-Moretti is “guilty of nothing”. “I have a bit of the feeling that when the judicial institution feels attacked, it is capable of injustice,” she continued, denouncing the “battle” of certain magistrates who would never have accepted her appointment to the bench. Department of Justice in July 2020, to push him to “resign.”
No “desire for revenge”
The prosecution claimed on Wednesday that Mr. Dupond-Moretti had ignored the “alerts”, “orange, red flashing lights”, and “crossed a line that he should never have crossed”: opening, as minister, administrative investigations targeting four magistrates whom he had criticized when he was a lawyer.
The first case concerns three magistrates from the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF) who had Mr. Dupond-Moretti’s telephone bills examined when he was a lawyer in the so-called “Bismuth” corruption case, linked to former President Nicolas Sarkozy – “barbouze methods”, he said, shortly before his appointment at Place Vendôme.
The second case concerns a former investigating judge, to whom he had attributed “cowboy” methods and against whom he had filed a complaint on behalf of a client for violation of the secrecy of the investigation.
“The final battle” of this “war” takes place at this hearing, she told the three professional magistrates and twelve parliamentary judges of the CJR. “The issue” of the decision they must make, she reminded them, is a possible resignation of the minister. However, Me Laffont assures us: “The lowest, most ridiculous sentence would suffice for that. » And added: “It’s not just about a man’s honor, it’s about the balance of power. »
“What did Eric Dupond-Moretti do? », said his other lawyer, Me Rémi Lorrain, asserting once again that the minister had only followed the “recommendations” of his services on procedures launched by his predecessor. “From start to finish”, he “is absent from the decision-making process”, “never gave instructions”. Having become a minister, he “didn’t care” about these affairs, “he didn’t take revenge! », protested Me Lorrain.
Sitting at his table in the courtroom, Mr. Dupond-Moretti listened, miming indignation or amazement at the same time as his lawyer pleaded. “The thesis of Eric Dupond-Moretti’s revenge does not hold for a second,” repeated Mr. Lorrain, assuring that “no one,” among those who worked alongside him at the ministry, had “heard of a any desire for revenge.”
