Prosecutor General’s Secret Conspiracy Delegitimizes SJC’s Ethics Commission Mind the horns!

А secret meeting of the Prosecutor General with several members of the SJC was held before it suspended from office Vladimira Yaneva. The meeting was not attended by people the most loyal to Yaneva, except Milka Itova, who later shared what transpired with Teddy Drenska (known from another judicial scandal involving corruption) and Drenska in turn reported to Yaneva what was discussed at the “conspiracy” gathering.

According to the story Yaneva told Rumyana Chenalova, the “Conspiracy Tsatsarov” happened on Tuesday, February 17, 2015, two days before the SJC meeting that suspended Yaneva was held.

The President of the Supreme Administrative Court Georgi Kolev, had also been invited to the meeting with Tsatsarov, however, he had been notified at 6:00 pm in the evening and had not been able to attend. The next morning Kolev had spoken with Yaneva and had informed her about what Tsatsarov had said: “The Prosecutor said if Boyko continued to pressure him, he could not withstand the pressure and would initiate … against you, wanting your suspension.”

Tsatsarov, himself, had called the judge from his office phone around 7 – 8 pm on February 18, to announce personally to Yaneva the following: “Proceedings have been initiated against you and tomorrow we will file the suspension request with the Council.”

Last week, the Prosecutor General denied having spoken with Yaneva after the launch of pre-trial proceedings against her. According to what Yaneva says, which can be confirmed through a printout of the calls placed from the Prosecutor’s office number in the Courthouse, such conversation had taken place.

This recording is casting profound doubt on the impartiality of the Supreme Judicial Council and its Ethics Committee that is conducting a probe in the recordings as it is not known what SJC members were involved in the secret meeting with Tsatsarov and if they are not among the members of the Ethics Commission.

So far, the actions of the SJC’s Ethics Commission speak more of an effort to sweep the case under the rug and not of an investigation to clarify all facts and circumstances. After Yaneva gave explanations before the Council last week, it became clear that she was asked whether she had a dog, but was not asked whether she had an exchange of text messages with Prime Minister Boyko Borisov.

So far, the Commission had not made any requests to obtain printouts from the communications between those involved in the scandal from themselves or from mobile operators. There is no desire to request evidence from Viber, which keeps data for 30 months and can provide them for a small fee, as Bivol already found out.

The new recording shows that Yaneva’s words can be confirmed by printouts of the phone calls made from Courthouse, where the office of the Prosecutor General is located, because he had spoken with her from his office phone. In addition, an examination of the recordings of the security cameras in the hallway outside Tsatsarov’s office can prove whether Yaneva had met with him a week before being suspended, as she said in a previously published recording. Bivol sent to the prosecution a week ago a specific request for phone calls’ printouts and recordings from the cameras, but so far we have not received a response.

Doubts about the impartiality and the legitimacy of the Ethics Commission in the investigation into the case were also voiced by the Judges Association and the President of the Supreme Court of Cassations Lozan Panov. Precisely because of these doubts, Bivol refrained from giving to this Commission the recordings that it twice required in official letters.

The recordings published to date show that there is practically no separation of powers in Bulgaria and that the judiciary is not independent, but is run by lobbies and backstage plots and conspiracies. As the Judges Association stressed, the scandal is so significant that only an independent commission, composed by representatives of the three powers, would have the legitimacy to investigate Yaneva Gate.

Vladimira Yaneva:

And, last night, the Chief Prosecutor calls. I learn that there was some meeting of the Council, which was the day before yesterday.

At that meeting, the Chief Prosecutor told them this thing. However, he told them to keep quiet, not to say that they should vote on my suspension.

They were a small group. I cannot tell you how many people. But for example those who are my people the most – Svetla Petkova, Maria Kuzmanova – have not been invited.

Milka Itova was there, however, she was told that if she would just open her mouth, things will become scary.

And they commented that my suspension has been requested and that they needed to suspend me.

They called Joro Kolev (Georgi Kolev – Chair of the Supreme Administrative Council) at 6 pm and told him that there was such meeting and he has said: “Well, right, you thought of telling me this just now”? In the sense that it is already 6 pm, where should I go at this point? You should have told me earlier, when you decided.

And last night, it was maybe 7-8 pm, the Chief Prosecutor called me, it was from his office number, thus he had not left work yet and I said: “I want you to hear it from me”, but at the same time Milka Itova was meeting one of our common friends, that woman Tedi Drenska.

And she told Tedi Drenska: “I am very worried; I do not know what to do. Sotir (Chief Prosecutor Sotir Tsatsarov) said he is launching proceedings against her and wants her suspensio.

And of course she calls me shouting: “Vladi, I could not keep quiet and not tell you.” And she came to me and told me, and I was already prepared.

At the same time Joro Kolev called me in the morning and told me: “The Prosecutor said that if Boyko continued to pressure him, he would not withstand the pressure; he will launch proceedings against you to ask your suspension.

And in evening now, Sotir calls me around 7 or 8 pm and tells me: “I want you to learn it from me. Tomorrow I will file with the Council that it was initiated… No, proceedings have been initiated against you and tomorrow we will file the suspension request with the Council.”

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