Opening of an unprecedented trial, that of the current Minister of Justice, Éric Dupond-Moretti

This is unheard of under the Fifth Republic. From Monday and for 10 days, the current Minister of Justice, Éric Dupond-Moretti, will be sitting in the dock of a court, accused of conflicts of interest within the framework of his functions. The hearing before the Court of Justice of the Republic (CJR), the only one authorized to judge members of the government for acts committed in the exercise of their functions, must open at 2:00 p.m. at the Paris courthouse.

The future in politics of the Minister of Justice at stake

Éric Dupond-Moretti, “serene” and who is “eager” to explain himself according to those around him, should have the floor for an introductory statement at the end of the afternoon. His interrogation is scheduled for Tuesday morning. The former star lawyer, one of the few known personalities of Macronie, retained the confidence of the President of the Republic despite his indictment.

The Minister of Justice would have used his position to settle scores with magistrates

Éric Duponc-Moretti, appointed to everyone’s surprise in July 2020, is undoubtedly playing out his future in politics. Asked at the beginning of October on the question of resignation in the event of conviction, Élisabeth Borne replied that there was a “clear rule”, already “applied” to other ministers, in reference to Alain Griset who had to leave the government . If he is found guilty of “illegal taking of interests”, the minister faces five years of imprisonment, a fine of 500,000 euros, as well as an additional penalty of ineligibility and prohibition from holding public office.

The former tenor of the bar says he is “innocent” and repeats that he only followed “the recommendations” of his ministry by launching administrative investigations against four magistrates with whom he had disagreements when he was a lawyer.

The PNF in a first case

This unprecedented file begins at the end of June 2020, on the sidelines of the so-called “Paul Bismuth” corruption affair targeting former President Nicolas Sarkozy, when Point reveals that the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF) examined the telephone bills of several lawyers, including Éric Dupond-Moretti, to flush out a possible mole who would have informed Nicolas Sarkozy and his lawyer Thierry Herzog that they were being tapped.

Éric Dupond-Moretti, a very close friend of Me Herzog, denounces a “barbouzard investigation”. “We have slipped into the Republic of Judges,” protested the man who was then one of the country’s most publicized lawyers, before filing a complaint. The Minister of Justice at the time, Nicole Belloubet, had requested an “operational inspection”. Having become a minister, Éric Dupond-Moretti then ordered an administrative investigation against two magistrates and the head of the PNF to determine possible individual faults.

Another case, an administrative investigation launched against a former judge seconded to Monaco

He had also opened, in another case, an administrative investigation against a former judge seconded to Monaco whose “cowboy” methods he had denounced as a lawyer and against whom he had filed a complaint on behalf of a client for violation of the secrecy of the instruction. During the investigation, Éric Dupond-Moretti, who has always maintained rough relations with the magistrates, denounced a “biased” instruction aimed at “sullying the reputation of a former lawyer” and fueling his trial into “illegitimacy in occupying the functions of Keeper of the Seals”. Around twenty witnesses will take the stand at the trial, including former Prime Minister Jean Castex and Nicole Belloubet.

The four magistrates targeted – and cleared after their disciplinary proceedings – will also be called to testify, trade unionists at the origin of the complaints against the minister and the former attorney general at the Court of Cassation François Molins.

During the hearing, scheduled until November 16, he will remain minister as if nothing had happened, or almost: measures will be taken “in order to ensure the proper functioning of public authorities and the continuity of the State”, such as signing delegations, an excused absence from the Council of Ministers or even his replacement on the government bench in Parliament, said a government source. Since its creation in 1993, the Court of Justice of the Republic has already convicted ten former members of the government, but no firm sentence has ever been handed down.