The Lithuanian parliament commission that carried out a parliamentary inquiry into the State Security Department’s (VSD) whistleblower case has concluded that the intelligence agency rendered favours to President Gitanas Nausėda when he was running for the post in 2019.
According to the panel’s conclusion, VSD director Darius Jauniškis received a list of names from Nausėda’s team to be background-checked either from the president himself or someone instructed by him.
“The commission concludes that the information about Gitanas Nausėda’s inner circle was received by VSD director Darius Jauniškis from a […] human source who could only have been Gitanas Nausėda himself, or a person who acted on his behalf,” the draft conclusion, registered on Tuesday, reads.
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Another section of the report states that the information gathered during the criminal intelligence investigation launched after the whistleblower turned to law enforcement authorities confirms that “the VSD director’s assignment to collect information was carried out at the request of a candidate in the 2019 presidential election”.
The findings state that Jauniškis assisted Nausėda by collecting intelligence on people from his inner circle, including members of his team, members of his election HQ staff and supporters.
The report also says that Jauniškis is responsible for outing the identity of the whistleblower, a former employee of the VSD who was tasked with carrying out the check’s on Nausėda’s team.
“Jauniškis is directly responsible for the disclosure of the identity of the whistleblower [Tomas] Gailius,” reads the draft parliamentary inquiry conclusion, which was registered on Tuesday.
The document also says that Jauniškis took no action to prevent Gailius from suffering negative consequences in the intelligence agency after he blew the whistle on the affair.
“On the contrary, [Jauniškis] sought to initiate pre-trial investigations at the General Prosecutor’s Office, which are related to the disclosure of the information referred to in Gailius’ report,” it reads.
President Nausėda has denied any wrongdoing alleged by Gailius.
He has also refused to testify in the parliamentary commission’s probe, which, according to the conclusion document, violates his oath of office.
“The commission [...] has not received any answers from Gitanas Nausėda to the provided written questions. The commission finds that President Gitanas Nausėda’s refusal to testify before the commission is incompatible with the Constitution, the oath taken by the president, and the law,” the draft conclusion reads.
Responding to the conclusion, the president’s office said the investigation was political and directed at affecting the results of the presidential election in May.
“This is an attempt to discredit the state and its constitutional principles for political purposes,” the presidential office told BNS, adding that the commission’s conclusions are seen as a “desperate attempt to influence the outcome of the presidential election”.
“The commission is clearly politicised and includes representatives of the ruling coalition, and its ‘conclusions’ are directed not only against the president, but also against a number of state institutions, including the State Security Department, the Special Investigation Service, and the Prosecutor General’s Office, without even bothering to look for arguments or evidence,” the comment reads.
The document will now be debated by the full parliament, Seimas.
The commission investigated the information provided by Gailius on the actions of the VSD’s leadership in checking Nausėda’s inner circle when he ran for president five years ago.
It also looked into alleged illegal financial support received during the 2019 presidential election campaign, a possible violation of the whistleblower’s rights, and possible unlawful influence on the imposition of sanctions against Belarus.
Presidential spokesman Ridas Jasiulionis said earlier that Nausėda would not provide answers because he decided “not to burden the lawmakers with additional work”, as Vytautas Bakas, who chairs the commission, had said he already had “answers to the main questions”.
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