Qatargate judge Michel Claise steps down

.

“As a precautionary measure, and in order to allow justice to pursue its work in serenity and maintain the necessary separation between private and family life and professional responsibilities, the investigating judge Michel Claise has informed us that he has decided this evening to step down from the case,” reads a statement.

The prosecutor’s office added the move comes in “the absence of any real evidence to cast doubt on the probity of any of the parties involved, and the substantial work he and his investigators have accomplished in this case.”

Claise’s resignation comes after a request for recusal filed Monday by Maxim Töller, the Liège-based lawyer for MEP Marc Tarabella (ER: see featured image), a primary suspect in the sprawling case, Töller told POLITICO.

Tarabella, who has consistently claimed his innocence and had previously tried (and failed) to oust Claise from the case, was recently released from wearing an electronic bracelet and allowed to leave house arrest under certain conditions.

Töller alleged Claise has been biased from the start due to ties with MEP Maria Arena. Though Arena has been neither questioned nor charged by prosecutors, she is mentioned in an arrest warrant as being part of a group of MEPs who would allegedly do Panzeri’s bidding.

Arena’s son, Ugo Lemaire, and Michel Claise’s son, Nicolas Claise, are co-owners of the same company and have known each other for many years, according to public documents from the company and social media posts.

Maria Arena was a close associate of chief suspect Pier Antonio Panzeri, a former MEP who admitted guilt in a plea deal. Arena described their ties as “professional friendship,” and Panzeri has insisted on her innocence. She has always said she’s innocent and not involved.

Panzeri accused Tarabella of having taken certain positions in the European Parliament to favor a third country in exchange for an estimated €120,000 to €140,000 in cash.  …

CONTINUE READING HERE

************

••••

The Liberty Beacon Project is now expanding at a near exponential rate, and for this we are grateful and excited! But we must also be practical. For 7 years we have not asked for any donations, and have built this project with our own funds as we grew. We are now experiencing ever increasing growing pains due to the large number of websites and projects we represent. So we have just installed donation buttons on our websites and ask that you consider this when you visit them. Nothing is too small. We thank you for all your support and your considerations … (TLB)

••••

Comment Policy: As a privately owned web site, we reserve the right to remove comments that contain spam, advertising, vulgarity, threats of violence, racism, or personal/abusive attacks on other users. This also applies to trolling, the use of more than one alias, or just intentional mischief. Enforcement of this policy is at the discretion of this websites administrators. Repeat offenders may be blocked or permanently banned without prior warning.

••••

Disclaimer: TLB websites contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available to our readers under the provisions of “fair use” in an effort to advance a better understanding of political, health, economic and social issues. The material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving it for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material for purposes other than “fair use” you must request permission from the copyright owner.

••••

Disclaimer: The information and opinions shared are for informational purposes only including, but not limited to, text, graphics, images and other material are not intended as medical advice or instruction. Nothing mentioned is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.