“Limitations in Malta’s anti-corruption framework also include the country’s anti-corruption commission, which is alarmingly understaffed.”

https://mjcl.gov.mt/en/justice/Pages/Permanent-Commission-Against-Corruption.aspx

How was he involved? He is not a legal aid lawyer.

The accused have been given legal aid because they can’t pay for their own defence. Legal aid lawyers are assigned to cases by the court itself, according to whose name is on the roster for that day.

And even if Jason Azzopardi were defending one of them, which he isn’t, I can’t see why you have suddenly decided this is ‘not normal’. I comment regularly on the fact that the Commissioner for Law Reform should not be defending drug traffickers, prostitutes, fraudsters, wife-beaters and sundry criminals every day in court, and have not yet seen you express any similar sentiment.

But the question remains why was Jason Azzopardi originally involved, and why is he not anymore? I would put it down to bad reporting (that he was actually working for the defence) but he was quoted as having spoken to the defendants.
I get the feeling you see this as normal but for an outsider it is very odd.

During his ‘speech from the throne’, Muscat informed us that 2016 ended better than it started. Only he failed to provide details of whom he was referring to.

My gut feeling is that it was Egrant, Tillgate and Hearnville among others riding the gravy train, such as Joe Vella Bonnici of Identity Malta, Brian Tonna among others.