Twist to Chirac's 'plot to smear Sarkozy' [list grows]

The Telegraph ^ | 7/9/2007 | Henry Samuel in Paris

[bruinbirdman]

A scandal over apparent efforts made by Jacques Chirac and his former prime minister to dash the presidential hopes of his rival Nicolas Sarkozy gathered pace yesterday after evidence emerged suggesting that the current interior minister was aware of the alleged plot.

Michèle Alliot-Marie, 61, defence minister when Mr Chirac was president, is expected to be questioned and perhaps placed under investigation after new evidence suggested she was aware of the attempt to smear Mr Sarkozy and failed to inform him.

Michèle Alliot-Marie was defence minister
when Jacques Chirac's was president

The so-called Clearstream affair surrounds allegations that several high-profile French figures - including Mr Sarkozy - were falsely accused of receiving kickbacks from the sale of French warships to Taiwan, dating back to 1991.

The events took place three years ago, when Mr Sarkozy was interior minister and Dominique de Villepin was foreign minister.

Inspectors are seeking to determine whether Mr de Villepin and Mr Chirac, who both reportedly "loathed" Mr Sarkozy, had tried to blacken his name by having a doctored list of those receiving the kickbacks sent to a senior judge.

Mr de Villepin, 53, is said to have wanted to undermine Mr Sarkozy and run for president himself, despite never having held elected office.

With Mr Sarkozy, 52, now president, the case is regaining momentum, with fresh evidence emerging last week.

Mrs Alliot-Marie, who was loyal to Mr de Villepin and Mr Chirac at the time, has been questioned about the affair and denied knowledge of it.

But, according to Le Journal du Dimanche, computer notes allegedly retrieved from the hard disc of a former spy chief, and leaked last week, suggested she knew of the list, and of a decision to send it to a senior judge, but that she had failed to inform Mr Sarkozy of any smear attempt.

The evidence also led police to search the home and office of Mr de Villepin, removing a briefcase, a cardboard box and two documents classified "secret-defence".

At one point in the notes, the spymaster General Philippe Rondot, who had been instructed by Mr de Villepin to look into the bank list in 2004, noted that two of the Clearstream plotters had allegedly told him they were acting on orders from Mr de Villepin.

Mr de Villepin dismissed this as "unfounded accusations".

The notes also purport to record that Mr de Villepin was acting on behalf of Mr Chirac. Mr Chirac, 74, has refused to be questioned on the Clearstream affair, claiming presidential immunity.

But Jean-Marc Fedida, a legal expert, told Liberation: "If he were found to have intervened in the affair, it would be up to the High Court to decide whether the facts constitute 'high treason' (for which a president can be tried)."

Mr de Villepin on Saturday told a newspaper that he refused to become "a scapegoat" in the affair - perhaps a veiled warning against his former mentor.

[bruinbirdman]

The French Pres don't need no stinkin' special prosecutor.

[Proud_USA_Republican]

” Mr Chirac, 74, has refused to be questioned on the Clearstream affair, claiming presidential immunity.”

Someone care to remind this vile bastard he isn’t president anymore?