Manuel Mallia’s second act as Justice, Police, Army & Broadcasting Minister, after asking the Broadcasting Authority to resign
Judge Lino Farrugia Sacco and his son David, who with (now Justice Minister) Manuel Mallia gave one press conference after another in the Labour campaign
Manuel Mallia spent most of the electoral campaign sitting next to fellow candidate David Farrugia Sacco at one press conference after another.
Now his second act on becoming minister of the Fascist Control Portfolio (police, army, justice and broadcasting) has been to instruct the Attorney General’s office to hold off the case against his friend David Farrugia Sacco’s father, Judge Lino Farrugia Sacco.
Well, let’s be specific, shall we? It’s actually Judge Farrugia Sacco himself who’s Manuel Mallia’s friend. They’re the same age and enjoy each other’s company. David is a lot younger.
It doesn’t look good, does it – even if there is a perfectly innocent, valid and justifiable reason for instructing the AG to back off for now. When the incoming minister has spent so much time campaigning with Farrugia Sacco’s son, and when Farrugia Sacco himself is a friend, more caution should have been exercised.
The Times, Saturday, March 16, 2013
by Ivan Camilleri
Judge’s PM case deferred
Government lawyers told to ask for a postponement
The constitutional case filed by Mr Justice Lino Farrugia Sacco against the Prime Minister and the Commission for the Administration of Justice was deferred yesterday at the request of the Government’s lawyers.
When he testified in the case last month, Mr Justice Farrugia Sacco said that an impeachment motion moved against him was “politically motivated”.
The impeachment motion had been moved by former Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi following a decision by the International Olympic Committee’s Ethics Commission relating allegations over the sale of tickets by national Olympic committees, including the one in Malta, which Mr Justice Farrugia Sacco chairs.
During a Constitutional Court sitting yesterday, lawyers representing the Prime Minister and the Attorney General, acting on “instructions from above”, asked for the case to be put off.
Lawyer Louis Cassar Pullicino, appearing for the Prime Minister, confirmed these instructions were issued by the current Administration when asked by the judge’s lawyer, David Farrugia Sacco.
The Times is informed that the next meeting of the Commission for the Administration of Justice is scheduled for Monday.
When he was still Leader of the Opposition, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat had said that he would abide by any decision taken by the Commission for the Administration of Justice, adding that Mr Justice Farrugia Sacco should have withdrawn temporarily from the Bench until the impeachment case against him was over.
Some years ago, Mr Justice Farrugia Sacco had been asked to resign from the post of president of the Malta Olympic Committee as this was deemed incompatible with his role as judge and went against the judiciary’s code of ethics.
Efforts to contact the Prime Minister’s spokesman for an official reaction proved futile.
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Jahasra, la ergajna bdejna, nkomplu… Tal-biki. Jien ghadni taht xokk qawwi.
Kif setghu, dawk li vvutaw LP, jikkunsidrawhom bhala serji dawn in-nies bla kwalita’ ta’ xejn?
Forsi jahsbu li izjed “cool” pajjiz bla dixxiplina?
Oh boy! Here we go. Worms with erections. Sorry, elections.
Fail! How the hell did we put this guy into power? Criminal defence lawyer now justice minister?
Have you seen his portfolio?
Pre and post election, that is.
Surely someone could of anticipated this?
Sure Mallia ‘ il-babbaw’ is in glory with no effort at all.
He will definitely support his corrupt friends and so he did from the very start.
Just wait and see.
To add insult to injury, Caqnu continued the illegal development at Hal Farrug just days before the election. Let’s see if they are going to stop him.
It’s not like we didn’t know that this is exactly what would have happened. And so did Farrugia Sacco himself.
Why else would he so brazenly ignore the requests for his resignation coming at him from all quarters? He knew that all he would have to do is play for time until his buddies were in power and all would be made right again.
Imma lil Borg Olivier ried jitfghu il-habs.
It has just begun to rain, Daphne. And rain we shall have. Cats and dogs will follow.
għaqal fit-tmexxijja
Daphne this site is amazing. I had a good laugh last night reading all the comments, and I have something to look foward to these coming 5 years.
As they say laughter is the best medicine and that’s what I am trying to do. Keep it up – please.
The man seen between the AFM official and Dr Mallia is a wellknown businessman who has major shareholding in widespread businesses.
He used to be seen as one of the PN’s ‘hbieb tal-hbieb’, but he’s been taken on board by Muscat since his early days at helm of the Labour Party. He is the man behind Mallia’s personal campaign, and now he seems to be the new minister’s righthand man.
Perhaps he’s the reason why broadcasting has been slipped into Manuel’s portfolio along with the army, the police and justice.
All those ‘fourth floor at MLP HQ’ agreements are beginning to leak out, and this is just the beginning of five long years of them.
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130317/local/new-minister-visits-afm.461743
These are the same people who saw corruption in all things the Nationalist government did. And now look.
Mhux hekk tismaghhom in-nies!? Viva Malta taghna lkoll.
What are the PN opposition going to do about it?
il-hbieb tal-hbieb mid-dehra tghodd hafna f’Malta taghna lkoll
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbIxTnNM680