To listen since Tuesday evening some caciques of the right, the indictment of Nicolas Sarkozy for “illegal financing of election campaign” would be great news. The lawyer and friend of former President, M th Thierry Herzog himself has expressed his “satisfaction” and “relief” of his client, the latter believing “cleared of any wrongdoing in the case Bygmalion” . Rarely an indictment has sparked such enthusiasm. Or as a fumigation, it depends.
The Sarkozy camp he minimizes this indictment?
If part of the Sarkozy clan declares victory, it is mainly because the party boss the Republican (LR) was placed under the assisted witness status for heads of “forgery”, “fraud” and ” breach of trust “, thus avoiding an indictment on those offenses related directly to the system of false invoices. At this stage, the judges therefore considered that Nicolas Sarkozy had not given the order to conceal some of his campaign expenses. Therefore, in the eyes of his supporters, the rest would be only procedural trifles. For M th Herzog, the offense of “illegal financing campaign” would as such a simple offense “formal” . An automatic decision on the whole, the accounts of the candidate having already been retoqués by the Constitutional Council and the Electoral Code punishing any candidate who spent the maximum allowable expenses.
The lawyer is ignoring that there are no unintended offense in criminal law. Reportedly, Judge Serge Tournaire has also clearly refers to two notes of the auditor to qualify the indictment of the former head of state. These show that Sarkozy was informed in March 2012 from the excitement of his campaign. And it has initialed its accounts knowingly.
The former president he has been held for these facts?
Another strange argument to minimize the indictment of Nicolas Sarkozy: the fact that the constitutional Council has “already decided” on exceeding campaign accounts. In July 2013, the “wise men” were struck down these accounts, considering that they had exceeded 466 118 euros the authorized ceiling. Accordingly, Sarkozy had to overcome a fine corresponding to part of the overrun. As for the UMP, private reimbursement of the state, she had been forced to organize the famous “Sarkothon” to replenish its coffers. This financial sanction, it is likely to avoid possible prosecution to the former president? In any case the new line of defense sarkozystes, which rely on the principle of non bis in idem that a person can not be tried twice for the same offense. “The Constitutional Council has decided on this subject two years ago, and what I believe is that the decisions of the highest court of our country are not subject to appeal” Brice Hortefeux insisted Wednesday. Thierry Herzog said think of a priority question of constitutionality (QPC) to lift unable to judge his client twice. A now classic use in financial affairs. In recent weeks, the Wildenstein and Cahuzac trial were suspended for the same reasons, lawyers arguing that their clients could only be sanctioned by both the tax authorities and criminal justice.
The problem with the here, it is only when Sarkozy’s campaign accounts were retoqués, Bygmalion the case had not yet broken out. “Justice has just revealed the stark limits of administrative control,” slips a source close to the matter. Opened in June 2014, the criminal investigation has indeed established that the campaign was not simply overwhelmed by 466 118 euros. According to calculations of the investigators, at least 18 million fake invoices were issued by the company Bygmalion. An amount to which are added expenses of € 10 million charged to the party instead of the candidate. At the finish, overtaking could be over 28 million. Difficult therefore to consider that the problem was resolved by the Constitutional Council
Another difference between administrative and judicial proceedings. The commission of campaign accounts which, first, retoqué accounts Sarkozy is based solely on the candidates’ statements and has no access to detailed accounts of parties. And unlike the investigating judges, it has no powers of investigation.
The trial will he held before 2017?
Contrary to a persistent rumor, the instruction is not fastened in Bygmalion case. If the file is in the “nearing completion” important procedural documents are still awaited. Guillaume Lambert, director of the 2012 campaign, notably asked the judges to take over all financial audits by putting next Bygmalion bills and those of its subcontractors. A painstaking work that is not finished. Other protagonists of the file may also choose to play the shows 14 people have been indicted in this case, the number of possible remedies is particularly high. Sarkozy’s hearing before the judge could Tournaire, too, cause twists. If, for example, the persons authorized by the former president decided to break their silence. Many hypotheses that make it very unlikely the prospect of a trial before the presidential election.
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