Rachida Dati and “Additional investigation”: “good faith” for both, believes the president of the parliamentary committee

Horizons MP Jérémie Patrier-Leitus, president of the commission of inquiry into public broadcasting, estimated this Monday, April 6 that the documents received in the context of the dispute between Rachida Dati and “Complément d’investigation” provided proof of the “good faith” of each of the parties.

“The documents that I have, in this case emails, give them both the benefit of the doubt, in any case good faith,” declared on RTL the elected official from Calvados, who had received at the end of February the evidence requested from the former minister and from the France Télévisions program.

“I am not a prosecutor or an investigating judge. My role is not to investigate. The documents, at this stage, which have been sent to me, give both the benefit of good faith,” continues Jérémie Patrier-Leitus.

Hearings taking place under oath

Before the commission of inquiry, Rachida Dati, then Minister of Culture and candidate for mayor of Paris, had accused this magazine on February 5 of having “offered, via a third party (an independent journalist, Editor’s note), to a member of his family, to be able to pay him” to receive information concerning her.

Interviewed in turn, those responsible for “Complement d’investigation” refuted: “We obviously did not give money or offer money to anyone in Madame Dati’s entourage, even through a third party,” assured the presenter of the show Tristan Waleckx.

The hearings taking place under oath, Jérémie Patrier-Leitus said he wanted to shed light on these accusations, raising the possibility of taking legal action for suspicion of perjury.

“Further investigation sent us emails. A close friend of the minister transmitted to the rapporteur (deputy Charles Alloncle) exchanges supporting the minister’s remarks, exchanges that the rapporteur transmitted to me,” explained the president of the commission at the end of February, without revealing the content of the elements.

He then recalled that “in the event of false testimony, prosecutions are carried out at the request of the president of a commission of inquiry and may, if necessary, result in a sentence of 5 years’ imprisonment and a fine of 75,000 euros.”

Started at the end of November, the National Assembly’s commission of inquiry into the “neutrality” and “financing” of public broadcasting is due to complete its hearings on Wednesday.