Jacques Chirac, former French president: Formally investigated over scam

[Steve Dii]

Huu ni wito kwa Mh. Rais Kikwete; tusishangae kwanini wenzetu wameendelea katika nyanja mbalimbali nchini mwao, tusishangae kwanini Tanzania na Afrika kwa ujumla bado tuko masikini; BALI TUHOJI NA KUFATILIA KANUNI TULIZOZIWEKA KATIKA KULINDA MASLAHI YA KITAIFA NA SI KULINDA MASLAHI YA KISWAHIBA.

Chirac formally probed over scam

Former French President Jacques Chirac is facing formal investigation for alleged embezzlement of public funds when mayor of Paris, his lawyer says.

The case relates to a scheme whereby rightist sympathisers were allegedly given jobs by Paris city hall.

Earlier, Mr Chirac faced three hours of questioning by a judge investigating the alleged irregularities.

Mr Chirac has consistently denied any wrongdoing while he was mayor of the capital between 1977 and 1995.

He lost immunity from investigation after he left the presidency in May.

Artificial salaries

Mr Chirac has now been placed under formal investigation, said his lawyer Jean Veil.

This means judges believe there is enough evidence against a suspect to proceed with a more exhaustive investigation, which may or may not culminate in a trial.

Mr Veil said an interview conducted by a magistrate with his client on Wednesday morning had been conducted in "the best possible atmosphere", AFP news agency reported.

This investigation relates to allegations that during Mr Chirac's time as mayor of Paris, up to 40 people were paid salaries by the city authority despite having had no connection to it.

They are alleged to have been supporters of Mr Chirac's own conservative RPR political grouping.

Reports say 21 people in total have been formally implicated in the scam.

Newspaper defence

The former French president has always denied wrongdoing. In an article in the French paper, Le Monde, on Wednesday Mr Chirac maintained that he had only ever hired "men and women of quality" to work for Paris.

Scores of people have been disgraced by the courts in party funding trials, including several of Mr Chirac's own close associates.

Mr Chirac was questioned by a magistrate in July over another funding scandal.

Source: BBC.

Ili nchi yetu iendelee,TUTEKELEZE TUYASEMAYO na kuacha kuoneana aibu kuwa huyu ni swahiba na huyu siye, tuache kuoneana aibu kuwa huyu ni ndugu yangu na huyu siye, huyu ni Rais Mstaafu na huyu siye... Sheria zifuate mkondo wake na wala si mahusiano.

SteveD.

 

[Steve Dii]

Presidential immunity huko Ufaransa naona wanajua jinsi ya kuitumia...

SteveD.

 

[Capitol Hill]

Hivi hatuwezi ku reform katiba ili tuanze kuwa na ACCOUNTABILITY kutoka kwa viongozi wetu? Kwa sababu if we take IMMUNITY away then we can hold them accountable for the wrong doing during their tenure. Zama za kulindana na kutetea UOZO zimepitwa na wakati, kama powerful nation like France, na Marekani (Soma hapo Chini) are taking measures to combat corruption sisi je?
Ooooops: I just remembered something: WOTE HAWA NI WACHAFU TU KUANZIA PCB mpaka mwisho

 

[Capitol Hill]

http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk1JmZnYmVsN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk3MjE5NDg4JnlyaXJ5N2Y3MTdmN3ZxZWVFRXl5Mg==

 

[Capitol Hill]

What the heck is our President waiting for?

Ex-NYPD commissioner Kerik surrenders in corruption probe
Friday, November 9, 2007

By JIM FITZGERALD
ASSOCIATED PRESS

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- Former New York City police commissioner Bernard Kerik surrendered Friday to face federal corruption charges, in what could prove to be an ongoing embarrassment for presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani.

Kerik surrendered to the FBI in suburban White Plains, where he was fingerprinted and processed. He was scheduled to be arraigned at noon in U.S. District Court.

Kerik, the police commissioner under then-Mayor Giuliani and a failed nominee for homeland security secretary, was indicted by a federal grand jury Thursday on charges of conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud and lying to the IRS.

If convicted, Kerik could face up to 142 years in prison and $4.75 million in penalties. The indictment alleges Kerik made false statements to the White House and other federal officials during his failed bid to head the Homeland Security department. Those statements involved failure to disclose payments from a contractor alleged to have mob ties, according to the indictment.

Kerik was police commissioner under then-Mayor Giuliani, and the indictment could complicate matters for the Republican presidential candidate as the first primaries draw near.

Giuliani endorsed Kerik's 2004 nomination to head Homeland Security. Only days after Bush introduced Kerik as his nominee, Kerik announced he was withdrawing his name because of tax issues involving his former nanny.
The indictment does not include any charges stemming from allegations of eavesdropping related to former Westchester County District Attorney Jeanine Pirro's pursuit of information about whether her husband was having an affair.

Prosecutors had been presenting evidence to a federal grand jury for several months.

The investigation of Kerik, 52, arose from allegations that, while a city official, he accepted $165,000 in renovations to his Bronx apartment, paid for by a mob-connected construction company that sought his help in winning city contracts.Kerik pleaded guilty last year to a misdemeanor charge in state court, admitting that the renovations constituted an illegal gift from the construction firm. The plea spared him jail time and preserved his career as a security consultant, but his troubles resurfaced when federal authorities convened their own grand jury to investigate allegations that he failed to report as income tens of thousands of dollars in services from his friends and supporters.

Kerik was police commissioner on Sept. 11, 2001, and his efforts in response to the terrorist attacks helped burnish a career that came close to a Cabinet post.

Giuliani frequently says he made a mistake in recommending Kerik to be Homeland Security chief, but that might not be enough to avoid the political damage of a drawn-out criminal case involving his one-time protege.

During a campaign stop Thursday in Dubuque, Iowa, Giuliani was asked whether he still stood by Kerik. He sidestepped that question and said the issue had to be decided by the courts.

"A lot of public comment about it is inconsistent with its getting resolved in the right way in the courts," Giuliani said.

Associated Press Writers Tom Hays and Pat Milton in New York City contributed to this report.

 

[Kitila Mkumbo]

Hivi hatuwezi ku reform katiba ili tuanze kuwa na ACCOUNTABILITY kutoka kwa viongozi wetu? Kwa sababu if we take IMMUNITY away then we can hold them accountable for the wrong doing during their tenure. Zama za kulindana na kutetea UOZO zimepitwa na wakati, kama powerful nation like France, na Marekani (Soma hapo Chini) are taking measures to combat corruption sisi je?
Ooooops: I just remembered something: WOTE HAWA NI WACHAFU TU KUANZIA PCB mpaka mwisho

Ndugu yangu tuta-reform vipi katiba wakati bunge letu akina Mudhihiri 200 na akina Zitto 2? Ndio sisi tukasema, sisi wananchi tunahitaji utambuzi wa kisiasa ili ifikapo wakati wa uchaguzi tusiwe mazuzu wa kuchangua wabunge lundo kutoka chama kimoja hasa chama chenyewe kikiwa ni CCM! That is our starting point. Tuachane na ujinga wa kushangilia ushindi wa kishindo ambao siku ya siku unatupa ujinga, maradhi na umaskini wa kishindo.

 

[tz_devil]

Mzee wa Ku-Kapitali,

Wanafahamu kabisa kuwa katiba yetu inamapungufu mengi kwahiyo, hawawezi kubadili katiba inayowapa mianya ya kufanya ufisadi... kwani wamekuwa majuha?

 

[Capitol Hill]

Nakubaliana na nyie wakuu. Inabidi tuanze (well tuendelee) kupiga debe la nguvu kuliamsha BUNGE LETU na viongozi wake ambao kwakweli wengi wao ni wazembe hamna mfano. Vile vile VYOMBO VYA HABARI vinatakiwa vipige kelele.
Najua ni long road ahead, lakini ipo siku tutafika..lakini mpaka hiyo siku ije, Watanzania tutakuwa tumedhulumiwa na MAFISADI kupita kiasi kwa manufaa ya "wachache".

 

[Ibrah]

WHY NOT MKAPA?
1. Over Kiwila Coal Mine deal?
2. Involvement in business while in Statehouse contrary to leadrship ethics?

 

[Kamanyola]

Huu ni wito kwa Mh. Rais Kikwete; tusishangae kwanini wenzetu wameendelea katika nyanja mbalimbali nchini mwao, tusishangae kwanini Tanzania na Afrika kwa ujumla bado tuko masikini; BALI TUHOJI NA KUFATILIA KANUNI TULIZOZIWEKA KATIKA KULINDA MASLAHI YA KITAIFA NA SI KULINDA MASLAHI YA KISWAHIBA.


Source: BBC.


Ili nchi yetu iendelee,TUTEKELEZE TUYASEMAYO na kuacha kuoneana aibu kuwa huyu ni swahiba na huyu siye, tuache kuoneana aibu kuwa huyu ni ndugu yangu na huyu siye, huyu ni Rais Mstaafu na huyu siye... Sheria zifuate mkondo wake na wala si mahusiano.


SteveD.

Any attempt to compare French democracy with that in Tanzania is bound not only to fail, but is both shallow and a great insult to France. France has had at least 2015 years to perfect their political system while Tanzania has known multiparty democracy for less than 12 years! Put in another way: France is 200 years strong while Tanzania is 1 year weak!!

 

[Steve Dii]

Any attempt to compare French democracy with that in Tanzania is bound not only to fail, but is both shallow and a great insult to France. France has had at least 2015 years to perfect their political system while Tanzania has known multiparty democracy for less than 12 years! Put in another way: France is 200 years strong while Tanzania is 1 year weak!!

Kamanyola, Sorry, but i'm abound to say that the statement above has high chance of insulting your own intelligence if any. Please review by comparing the age of France's democracy with that of Zambia, then talk about Chilluba! Thanks.

SteveD.

 

[Nyani Ngabu]

This Kamanyola dude is dumb as a rock

 

[Nyani Ngabu]

Shut the hell up...you stupi little bia bia

 

[Kamanyola]

Kamanyola, Sorry, but i'm abound to say that the statement above has high chance of insulting your own intelligence if any. Please review by comparing the age of France's democracy with that of Zambia, then talk about Chilluba! Thanks.

SteveD.

The French parliament and the courts didn't have to go through protracted sessions (that may be extremely demanding in time and resources) on the issue of removing M. Chirac's presidential immunity. A clause in the constitution of France laying down the merits and limitations of presidential immunity already existed even by the time Chirac became president. This was not so with Chiluba in Zambia: in fact despite massive efforts to bring Chiluba to justice (among other things through constitutional ammendments to abolish permanent immunity for ex-presidents), he is by all accounts still a free man and has not turned in a cent of of the millions of dollars he stole from Zambian treasury.

 

[Steve Dii]

The French parliament and the courts didn't have to go through protracted sessions (that may be extremely demanding in time and resources) on the issue of removing M. Chirac's presidential immunity. A clause in the constitution of France laying down the merits and limitations of presidential immunity already existed even by the time Chirac became president. This was not so with Chiluba in Zambia: in fact despite massive efforts to bring Chiluba to justice (among other things through constitutional ammendments to abolish permanent immunity for ex-presidents), he is by all accounts still a free man and has not turned in a cent of of the millions of dollars he stole from Zambian treasury.

... at least his case was heard, ain't it?! In democratic states, how old does democracy has to be to be seen applicable?!

Kamanyola, are you really suggesting that in our own constitution nothing is there to stop a president from 'double dealing' as long as he/she stands president, once and after tenure?

... anyway, what would you be advocating if Chiluba's still on the lose?

SteveD.

 

[Kamanyola]

...

Kamanyola, are you really suggesting that in our own constitution nothing is there to stop a president from 'double dealing' as long as he/she stands president, once and after tenure?

... anyway, what would you be advocating if Chiluba's still on the lose?

SteveD.

I am no expert in constitutional law of Tanzania so I cannot answer your question. However its clear what you ask above has little (or rather indirect) relevance to the issue of presidential immunity which as far as I understand this thread is all about.

As for your other question: I'm afraid I have no idea.