CLEARSTREAM: De Villepin appears in court on smear charges
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Former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin appears in court on Wednesday to testify on his role in the Clearstream scandal.
I am happy to bring my contribution to the emergence of truth in a case where lies and manipulation have clouded the truth, Villepin told reporters before entering the courtroom. Sarkozy’s name was added to a forged list of people allegedly holding secret bank accounts at Luxembourg-based clearing house, Clearstream .
De Villepin faces charges charge of trying to undermine Nicolas Sarkozy’s campaign to win the presidency in 2007 by implicating him in a corruption scandal.
The crux of his innocence or guilt depends on whether he knew about the forgery, and whether he in fact gave the order to commit the forgery.
The former prime minister, whose testimony is the lynchpin in the whole case, had struck a defiant note on the first day of the trial, saying: I will emerge from this free and with my reputation cleared, in the name of the French people. . In a brief interrogation in the court Tuesday he repeated that he never had any idea of, nor held in [his] hands, any falsified lists. He will most likely get a ban on holding office, which would be a major blow since he still had political ambitions.
Bythem Top Story aired on 30 September 2009
According to them Catherine Norris-Trent, who is covering the trial, No one believes de Villepin will be sentenced to prison. Even more important than the verdict, if it can be proved he is lying, his reputation is ruined.
But even if the court did not sentence him at all, says Norris-Trent, the maximum damage has already been done to de Villepin.
The courtroom has already seen much drama . People are saying that is what the prosecution is going for, she said.
Clearstream trial – Nicolas Sarkozy
. Monday proceedings included an uncontrollable screaming match between two key players in the case, Jean-Louis Gergorin (former executive VP of French corporation EADS) and Imad Lahoud, who worked under Gergorin as a mathematician and is accused of having committed the actual forgery