As reported in recent news feeds, the European Parliament has suspended the parliamentary immunity of Marine Le Pen, the leader of the Front National in France. Her alleged “crime” was to have included photos of violence by the Islamic State in tweets she made two years ago. This is yet another blatant attempt at political harassment and intimidation through the European judicial system.
Many thanks to Ava Lon for the translation, and to Vlad Tepes for the subtitling:
Transcript:
31:10 | Another question. You know well, Mme Le Pen, the European Parliament has to announce today | |
31:14 | on whether or not your parliamentary immunity is lifted for the dissemination of violent images | |
31:18 | after the publication of a tweet showing executions of the Islamic State. | |
31:22 | So do you accept the fact of being treated as normally prosecutable? | |
31:26 | I’ve never refused to be treated as a normal prosecutable, but | |
31:30 | am I treated as normally prosecutable? —So it’s normal that this lifting of parliamentary immunity… | |
31:34 | I’m asking a real question: I am being accused | |
31:38 | on TV by a journalist that the movement I lead shares the same | |
31:42 | ideology as ISIS. Do you realize the gravity of this charge? | |
31:46 | I distribute 2-3 pictures of ISIS’ horrors, to say: this is ISIS. And I denounce | |
31:50 | ISIS. And the minister himself, | |
31:54 | the minister himself demands that I be charged | |
31:58 | for disseminating pictures, that everyone and anyone could… —For violent images, yes. | |
32:02 | That everybody and anyone could find on Google | |
32:06 | by looking for “murder, ISIS”. —If this is condemned by the justice, do you accept it? —But why? | |
32:10 | Why am I prosecuted and not others? This is the problem. —There could be other prosecutions… | |
32:14 | That’s the problem. I’m a deputy. —You’re a public personality, very important… —NO, sir, I am— | |
32:18 | Exactly, sir, no sir, I am sorry: I am a representative. —And you are disseminating tweets… | |
32:22 | I am a representative. I am doing my job when I denounce ISIS. This is my job. | |
32:26 | And if I don’t do this job, I am worthless as a representative! | |
32:30 | And I think that nobody can prevent a representative elected in the Republic | |
32:34 | from denouncing the crimes of ISIS. And while | |
32:38 | Marine Le Pen is prosecuted for that — which is crazy — to the point | |
32:42 | that even the Office of the Assembly refused to lift the parliamentary immunity | |
32:46 | of Mr. Collard for the same facts. They refused. That’s how scandalous it was! | |
32:50 | This political investigation, again… —We sometimes have political [investigations] against us. | |
32:55 | We sometimes have the strong impression that you are a little above the law, Marine Le Pen. | |
32:58 | You allow? While I am being prosecuted for | |
33:02 | telling the French what ISIS is, the government wasn’t even capable of making a list | |
33:05 | of criminal organizations that want to attack the lives of French people. | |
33:11 | Meaning: ISIS, Boko Haram, al Qaeda,… —We are sometimes under impression | |
33:15 | that you are a little above the law, Marine Le Pen, especially when you refused | |
33:19 | last week to go to that police convocation. For what reason? | |
33:23 | Well for a simple reason, Madame, that on | |
33:27 | February 18th 2016, while this case, | |
33:31 | this investigation was open for almost a year and a half, I asked | |
33:35 | for the nomination of the judge. I did ask for it. | |
33:39 | OK? To preserve the rights of the defence. | |
33:43 | This request was refused by the court, | |
33:47 | and a year later, as if by coincidence, at the moment of the | |
33:51 | presidential campaign, look! They have a judge right away! | |
33:55 | And they accelerate the calendar! But why haven’t they designated a judge, when | |
33:59 | I was asking for it a YEAR ago? See? So I do believe it, yes. | |
34:03 | Will you go to this convocation anyway? —Yes, I’ll go, like I did during the regional elections. | |
34:07 | During the regional elections, I experienced, as if by coincidence, there was well, an acceleration | |
34:11 | of the investigation during the regional campaign, and I told to the judge the same | |
34:15 | thing I’m telling you today: I’ll go, of course, but not during my presidential campaign… | |
34:19 | Does what you are saying also concern the case in the Parliament? —Because I asked you, | |
34:23 | because I asked you a YEAR ago for a designation | |
34:27 | of a judge, you have an Olaf Report [the European Anti-Fraud Office], that I am formally contesting, | |
34:31 | EIGHT MONTHS AGO and as if by coincidence, well, | |
34:35 | today, a couple of days from the very election, things are accelerating! | |
34:39 | I’m saying that it’s not OK. | |
34:43 | That the neutrality, the impartiality, the serenity, | |
34:47 | necessary to administer justice aren’t guaranteed in this case. —But Madame Le Pen, | |
34:51 | there is, however, a gap, you are perhaps going to | |
34:55 | become the president of the Republic, thus a guarantor of the institutions, (part of which is Justice). | |
35:00 | Of course, sir! —So answering to a convocation is a part of that; | |
35:04 | a judicial convocation seems normal… —Monsieur, do you know | |
35:08 | …and all citizens who were summoned will go. —Of course, of course, but you know there are also | |
35:12 | in the constitution, because it is wise, a disposition, that aims to prevent persecution | |
35:16 | of political opponents by a possible government. So you can see, that we aren’t the only ones | |
35:20 | to think that this type of things could happen. There’s also the | |
35:24 | author of the constitution, who thought about it; | |
35:28 | and to protect those elected to the opposition | |
35:32 | from possible persecution by the government, there’s something called “parliamentary immunity”. | |
35:36 | Meaning that we’re asking the Assembly in which | |
35:40 | the representative is sitting to judge | |
35:44 | if he isn’t victim of what is called the “fumis persecutionis”. | |
35:48 | Voilà. And this is the very reason for this immunity. It is constitutional. | |
35:52 | So when today, the president of the Republic and the prime minister go on TV | |
35:56 | to say that I am breaking the law, well, they are the ones who are breaking the constitution! | |
36:00 | Because they know very well this rule, but | |
36:04 | of course they are more in a political debate than | |
36:08 | in a debate about the guarantor for the president of the institutions. |
The hostility she faces…! Horrible.
Same as for Viktor Orbán, Donald Trump, Geert Wilders and others. The recipe is the same!
What struck me was, these two talking heads were like angry inquisitors, sitting in judgment over her. This is what our press has become, a runaway 5th column, thinking of themselves as political power in their own right, directing events, manipulating the peons, rather than responsibly informing. Repugnant.
Didja see the news item about some ejit from Fox had the temerity to go after an alternative site journo (and a Jew!) at the WH and call him a Nazi in front of everybody? I hope the SOB loses his job.
Being called a Nazi is a badge of pride in this line of work. If I don’t get called a Nazi, I’m not doing a very good job.
Erdogan was calling the Dutch Nazis. No wonder the SJWs and the followers of Mohammed get along so well. They have the same authoritarian tendencies. One of them, however, is more bloodthirsty.
Yes and it is sad thing because what the real original Nazis did should not fade out. But you are right, now it is part of being not a leftist idiot is equals to being “literally hitler”…