Pave: Mangez des citrons ! Redux

Le jour 51 de Sarko

EAT SOME LEMONS!
Know Nothing, Tell Nothing
(Explanation under caption here.)

Once upon a time Then-Jack, Now Ex-Jack was president of France. He wasn't a good president. He had little interest in and no idea about governing France. So how did Then-Jack occupy his days? With les magouilles.

After all, he was president. [Pause.] And it was France.

One of his pet magouilles was plotting the ruin of the most popular politician in France at the time -- who also happened to be a high ranking member of Then-Jack's party, and a minister in his own cabinet -- the now president Sarko.

Alas, not only was Then-Jack a bad president, he was also a bad magouilleur and he was caught out. Or more precisely his hatchet man, who was also his PM and France's most revered bad poet, was caught out.

But when asked, the PM assured all that he knows nothing, which had often been the case with the lyric PM (and this and this). And Now Ex-Jack recently announced he will not tell what he knows. Sarko has since deposed Then-Jack and is president. He can live without justice.

So the investigators have had to work the evidence.

NEW MATERIAL IMPLICATES FORMER PM IN CLEARSTREAM SCANDAL

PARIS July 4, 2007 (AFP) - Material found on the computer of one of the main figures in the Clearstream affair implicates former French prime minister Dominique de Villepin, sources close to the case said Wednesday.

... The material suggests that Villepin set up a secret meeting in 2004 between diplomat and businessman Jean-Louis Gergorin and investigating magistrate Renaud van Ruymbeke. Following the meeting Gergorin "anonymously" sent the bogus list of people involved to the judge.

According to sources close to the case, the material suggests that the idea to send the phoney list of names came from the former prime minister.

The information was found on the portable computer of French senior intelligence official, general Philippe Rondot.

Ex-intelligence chief Rondot has protested the innocence of both Then-Jack, Now Ex-Jack and Dom.

FRENCH INVESTIGATORS RAID FORMER PRIME MINISTER'S HOME

PARIS July 5, 2007 (AFP) - French investigators raided the home of former French prime minister Dominique de Villepin on Thursday after fresh evidence came to light in a dirty tricks scandal targeting President Nicolas Sarkozy.

... [The new evidence appears] to back up claims that in 2004 Villepin encouraged the leaking of information falsely implicating the then interior minister Sarkozy in a financial scandal, justice officials said.

The documents also suggest Villepin was acting with the clear support of then president Jacques Chirac.

... Judges in charge of the investigation are looking into allegations that Villepin and Chirac may have tried to secretly publicise the list in order to wreck Sarkozy's presidential hopes. His relationship with the two was at the time under great strain.

... The new evidence consists of computer files written by Rondot in mid-2004, around the time that the fake accounts list was leaked to a judge by Jean-Louis Gergorin, then vice-president at the European defence group EADS.

In a first note dated May 26, Rondot says that Gergorin told him he had "received instructions from Dominique de Villepin and had decided to speak to the judge."

It goes on: "In an interview between Jean-Louis Gergorin and Dominique de Villepin on May 19, the latter was apparently jubilant but also concerned not to have his name appear in the affair."

In a second note dated June 30 2004, Rondot cites Imad Lahoud, the computer expert believed to have prepared the fake lists.

"According to the source Imad Lahoud, Jean-Louis Gergorin received instructions from Dominique de Villepin, which were themselves formulated by the president of the Republic, to finger Nicolas Sarkozy," the note quoted by Le Figaro reads.

Rondot had tried to delete the files from his computer, but they were recovered by experts.

M. Rondot probably needed the space on his drive to store his denials.

See here for background post.

PFFT (What is this?): The lady doth protest too much, methinks 4½ | Rayonnement français 0