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Russian propaganda is trying to portray former Social-Democrat leader Liviu Dragnea as the victim of the machinations of the US and Romanian justice systems
NEWS: “This week’s huge scandal revolves around the arraignment of Liviu Dragnea in a new investigation which the media has dubbed “The Donald Trump Affair”.
It concerns Liviu Dragnea’s famous visit to Washington, where the PSD president, accompanied by Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu, attended a private event ahead of the official inauguration of Donald Trump at the White House. Admission to the event was ensured by a private lobby firm, and the way Dragnea handled the payment got him a new indictment.
Well, Savaliuc’s publication has now made a shocking revelation: the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) used “confidential documents of the United States Department of Justice to take out the former PSD president Liviu Dragnea”.
And that despite the fact that the DoJ “made it clear that the documents in question are not to be made public knowledge or used by the DNA”, LuJu also writes.
In fact, the matter is even more serious, as Dragnea himself notified the DoJ and FBI in this respect in a letter dated May 11, 2021.
The publication “Lumea Justiției” published a photocopy of the said letter not long ago, the contents of which indicate that the 2017 affair “had already been addressed and investigated by US authorities which didn’t find any irregularities”, LuJu writes.
But the most serious conclusion stemming from this letter is that “DNA used the documents provided by the United States Department of Justice, although this institution specifically stated they are not to be disseminated or used in any way by the National Anticorruption Directorate”, Sputnik writes.
NARRATIVES: 1. Liviu Dragnea is a victim of the US and Romanian justice systems, two purported democracies. 2. The Romanian judiciary and DNA in particular are committing abuses against both citizens and foreign partners.
BACKGROUND: Liviu Dragnea’s letter to the FBI, published by luju.ro and shared by Sputnik, made headlines after the Bucharest Tribunal postponed the parole application of former PSD leader, Liviu Dragnea, currently serving time at the Rahova Penitentiary since May 27, 2019, when he was sentenced to three and a half years’ imprisonment for his involvement in the awarding of fictitious employment contracts at the General Directorate for Social and Child Welfare (DGASPC) in Teleorman County.
On May 18, Liviu Dragnea was scheduled to appear before the Bucharest Court of Appeal, where he demanded a transfer of the Tribunal lawsuit, but this hearing was postponed as well, due to a no-show of his lawyer. The new hearing is set for May 25.
On April 27, the Bucharest District 5 Court dismissed Liviu Dragnea’s parole application as unfounded.
PURPOSE: The fake news is aimed at victimizing the former Social-Democrat president, Liviu Dragnea, in an attempt to prevent the start of a new lawsuit against him. On May 17, anticorruption prosecutors brought Dragnea to court as part of an investigation into Dragnea’s visit to the United States in January, 2017, to attend the inauguration of Donald Trump’s presidency. Drangea faces allegations of influence peddling and abuse of influence.
WHY THE NARRATIVES ARE FALSE: Dragnea’s letter to the FBI, where he accuses DNA of illegally and abusively using data provided by the United States Department of Justice (DoJ) contains partially false information.
Dragnea’s visit to the United States was arranged by an American lobby firm, something which became apparent ever since 2017, when the United States Department of Justice itself made the contract public. Such contracts are usually public knowledge in the United States and contain all related details, including figures and names. They have to be registered at the United States Department of Justice as per the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).
In all likelihood, DNA prosecutors could have easily accessed FARA records, which are widely available on the DoJ website.
In fact, G4Media published an article, claiming that Dragnea allegedly used his influence over Romanian authorities to secure a number of military contracts, including the company owned by Elliot Broidy, one of the fundraisers and vice-presidents for Donald Trump’s Presidential Inaugural Committee.
Quoting the DNA indictment, G4Media writes that Dragnea obtained the following benefits from Broidy after having used his influence with certain heads of public institutions in Romania: 250,000$ in tickets for Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony in January, 2017; 30,000$ in publicity services for PSD to be delivered by Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck political marketing company based in Washington DC and by Barry Jackson, adviser and chief of staff to former House of Representatives Speaker, John Boehner; the promise of a visit to Romania by president Donald Trump in May 2017 and a meeting on US soil with House Speaker, Paul Ryan.
Furthermore, although he claims that part of the DoJ documents concerning him “must not be disseminated or used in any way by DNA”, Dragnea produced no such document, DNA never made public any such document and there have been no such “leaks” in the media.
Also worth noting, in this context, is that Russian propaganda has been systematically batting for Dragnea whenever his name was tied to charges of abuse, particularly his attacks on the judiciary and the rule of law in Romania. Dragnea’s standing with Russian propaganda soared after the Social-Democrat leader took on a hardline stance against the USA and the EU, who criticized Dragnea for his political activity and corruption allegations tied to his name.
WHO STANDS TO BENEFIT: Russia, in order to undermine public confidence in the Romanian and American justice systems, and to indirectly obscure Romanians’ perception of the trans-Atlantic partnership between the United States and Romania.
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