Why am I inclined to believe Kessler in this matter?

Published: May 5, 2013 at 11:14am

The Sunday Times reports (the full story is in the print edition only):

The head of the EU Anti-Fraud Agency, Giovanni Kessler has denied that he told Gayle Kimberley, a key Dalligate witness, that she should fear former European Commissioner John Dalli.

“… I absolutely deny it, strongly,” Mr Kessler said in a telephone interview.

He also denied that “there was any wine” at the lunch Dr Kimberley was invited to after the interrogation.

The claims, made by Dr Kimberley while testifying in the Maltese courts, caused a ruckus in Brussels and fuelled claims for Mr Kessler’s resignation.

“…The interview in Portugal was a very normal and accurate interview. The text was reviewed by her and she eventually asked for some corrections and they have been granted,” Kessler said.

Reacting to concerns by the OLAF Supervisory Committee over potential breaches made in the Dalli investigation, he insisted that the committee never said that OLAF had done anything illegal.




33 Comments Comment

  1. Another John says:

    Same here. I do not believe that our Maltese compatriots are saying an ounce of truth.

  2. CIS says:

    She had a lot of time to decide what to say. Kessler says they were not alone. Lets see how it unfolds now.

  3. canon says:

    As is expected John Dalli’s defence lawyers will do anything to discredit the author of the OLAF report,Kessler.

    • jgrech says:

      To be fair is that really so different to what is being done to discredit Dr Kimberley? Hypocrisy is something you have to be vigilant to avoid.

      If you want to dine with cannibals then you better be prepared to get eaten. That’s what Mr Kessler is learning. Believe me, there is a lot more to come out here.

  4. M. Qoop says:

    so you are implying that Kimberley is a LIAR.
    Has she lied about John Dalli too ?

    [Daphne – See my response to Challie. Also, I am not “implying” that Dr Kimberley is a liar. I state it as fact. She is by her own admission a liar: she has admitted to lying about one meeting with Dalli. And it can be safely deduced that her affair with Iosif Galea did not take place with her husband’s knowledge and consent, or for that matter, with his wife’s. Covert relationships are not just a lie in themselves, but are impossible to conduct without an elaborate series of lies.]

  5. Challie says:

    But that creates an even bigger problem. If Dr Kimbereley is the main witness and she’s lying about Kessler, why is she not lying about Dalli too?

    [Daphne – She did lie about him. She said that she met him twice when she only met him once. But it makes no difference, because, as has been made clear already, the resignation matter and the criminal offence are two separate issues. He wasn’t made to resign because she said X or Y about him.]

  6. Richard Borg says:

    Ifhem, you believed JPO, so don’t worry too much about inclinations.

    [Daphne – If I had known him to have a history of lying and cheating, I wouldn’t have believed him. On the other hand, it is unfortunate (and I mean that) that the circumstances of this case mean that what would have been strictly private has instead been forced into open court, and as a result, we all now know that Dr Kimberley has a history of lying. You might sniff at the gravity of lies to a spouse (lots of people do) but a lawyer lying to a client? That’s serious stuff.]

  7. Maria says:

    Me too

  8. Wilson says:

    I believe neither of them.

  9. kev says:

    You would, wouldn’t you.

    I am inclined to believe Kimberly on two points. First, it’s not a lie you’d need to concoct in the situation. Secondly, it’s how it works when investigators need patsies to ensnare their target. You see, even patsies need to be morally justified in their devious actions.

    [Daphne – I don’t know, Kevin. How would you have seen it, as the policeman you were? In a toss-up between whether you should believe a habitual liar or somebody who’s not a (proven) liar, who would you be inclined to believe? The trouble with people who’ve admitted to lying repeatedly is that it becomes difficult to believe them when other people are denying what they say. Men and women who have to cover up a highly involved affair and the way of life that goes with it must construct a web of deceit so elaborate that lying becomes second nature. The witness – a lawyer – even lied to her own client about having had a second meeting with Dalli, then lied to the investigators about it, then admitted she had lied. And I actually feel sorry for her, because this is a hell of a thing to be going through when you’re pregnant and should be preparing for the birth.]

    • kev says:

      Well, someone on the prosecution side is lying – and that is the bottom line, here, isn’t it.

      I would give Kimberley a break and believe her for once. As for Kessler, his past isn’t exactly spectacular, and as an investigator under pressure to deliver Dalli’s head on a plate he’s been clutching at straws while derailing the investigation towards whichever results he thinks would suit him.

      That’s what happens when you investigate the man and not the case: you disregard any evidence that does not suit your predetermined conclusions.

      Investigazzjoni fazzula, as Alfred the Sant would have said.

      • kev says:

        …and that’s ‘fazulla’

      • Jozef says:

        Dazgur.

        http://mafiatoday.com/tag/giovanni-kessler/

        Just the intelligence and knowhow to investigate organised crime and its ramifications.

        Back in 1996 he volunteered for investigating magistrate in Gela. His work brought 46 clan members to trial, condemned a total of over 900 years.

        He’ll spend the rest of his days secluded to maximum security. What is it he has to do to impress you, be blown up like Falcone?

      • kev says:

        There you are, Jozef. And his investigative tactics reflect his experience in collating evidence against known clan members. It explains why he aimed at nailing Dalli, guilty or not, rather than objectively investigating the case, establishing the roles and actions of the tobacco company, its lobbyists and whoever was involved.

        There is a huge operational and tactical difference between an investigation aimed at establishing the truth, and one directed towards collating evidence against a specific target. The former is the Common Law approach, the latter is the way of despots and tyrants.

      • Jozef says:

        Well, it does test your idea of his motive and stamina under Barroso’s ‘pressure’.

        He’s from the procura nicknamed Fort Apache, his job was to formulate the charges.

        The UK has already expressed hostility at his super investigator role in the EU. But Britain, and Malta are alien to the possible five degrees of judgement which Kessler would have been accustomed to.

        You’re wrong about his tactics, in that in Italy, being close to clan members, even if not an affiliate, carries charges as harsh.

        Belittling the investigator is distorting the investigation, not the other way round.

        If John Dalli tends to have his picture taken with what he describes later as complete unknowns, collating evidence becomes, sort of, obvious.

        The question here is why should Dalli lie? As for the evidence kept under wraps, well, when all of them keep changing their story, we don’t want them knowing what’s on Kessler’s papers do we?

      • Angus Black says:

        Since when is giving someone “a break and believe her for once”, a valid substitute for straight and plain truth, Kev?

        Your remarks are indeed ‘fazull!

  10. bob-a-job says:

    What’s all this fuss in Brussels over Dr Kimberley’s interrogation?

    What would people that matter in Brussels have to say had they to get to know that a person I know was made to stand naked in front of police officers for having alledgedly misused his laptop?

  11. david anastasi says:

    Very easy to check about the wine: surely he kept the restaurant receipt to claim expenses.

  12. ciccio says:

    Thankfully, Mr. Kessler does not lead a government with a one seat majority held by a cock-fighter obsessed with his form 2c report who can be manipulated to vote with the opposition.

    That said, every possible manouevre is being made to get Mr. Kessler out of the way in the same way that Dr. Lawrence Gonzi was deposed. The perpetrators must be thinking that if the strategy worked on Dr. Gonzi, it should work on Mr. Kessler.

  13. Riya says:

    Kullhadd jaf x’jaghmel gurdien meta jinqabad f’ rokna.

    Dan Kessler x’ghandu ghalfejn jigdeb jew jivvinta?

    Wara kollox l-akkuzati qed jghidu kollox minn wara dahru.

  14. Miss Forcina says:

    This case has been dragged far too long. I can’t help this nagging feeling that somehow someone (or several) are trying to put Mr Kessler in the frame. I smell devious tactics and mud throwing, a desperate attempt to mock justice.

  15. Gahan says:

    Look, let’s cut this story short; people who believe Dalli tend to be the same people who take Frank Portelli’s statements at face value.

    http://www.inewsmalta.com/dart/20130504-hemmx-differenza-bejn-li-wie-ed-jg-allem-fi-sptar-jg-allem-universit-portelli

  16. canon says:

    I believe that originaly the four of them were embroiled in this scandal. Now they want to save their own skin.

  17. QahbuMalti says:

    Funny how Dalli has stayed mum on the phone logs which are produced by a machine that cannot lie.

  18. Illiterate says:

    Look at the level of English expressed by the Tourism Directorate:

    “Good morning,

    While thanking you for accepting the invitation for 6th May 2013, this office would want to address that The Exibition and Archives Project, is a success.

    Thank you.

    Ministry for Tourism MOT
    Tourism Directorate
    Auberge D’Italie
    Merchant Street
    Valletta

    Tel: 22915035”

  19. T.M. says:

    I am not only inclined to believe Kessler, but I am strongly inclined to believe Barroso…that Dalli’s position as EU Commissioner had become untenable.

    What I refuse to believe is that John Dalli has “attracted” a series of injustices throughout the years, and every time he was perfectly innocent.

    Dalli never gave the impression that he is a naive and gullible person. Why is L-Orizzont defending him so strongly and depicting him as a victim? What’s the plan?

    • Angus Black says:

      What’s the plan, you ask?

      Maybe when all this calms down, an appointment to some lucrative position for Dalli presented on a silver platter by Joseph?

      Surely, Joseph must have signed a few IOUs to Dalli over the last several years for attacking the NP on One TV.

      • canon says:

        My prediction is that John Dalli will stand for the MEP elections with the Greens or Alternativa.

  20. maryanne says:

    So, our Police Commissioner will be meeting the European Greens’ MEPs and ‘satisfy’ their curioisity before he deals with us Maltese.

    Like the Greens, we have been waiting to know more about Dalligate, especially since Dalli last came over to Malta which coincided with the appointment of the new Commissioner of Police.

  21. H.P. Baxxter says:

    Let’s take a step back here, chaps.

    Even if absolutely everyone at the European Commission is lying, down to the lady who makes tea, is that a valid reason to reinstate our national embarrassment John Dalli?

    Because this is exactly what some of the more – ahem – conspiratorial arguments sound like.

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