It was a first, and it ultimately ended well for Eric Dupond-Moretti. The Minister of Justice Eric Dupond-Moretti, tried for illegal taking of interests, was acquitted this Wednesday, November 29 in Paris, by the Court of Justice of the Republic (CJR), a decision which clarifies his political horizon.
This is the first time that a serving Minister of Justice was before the Court of Justice of the Republic, this exceptional French court created in 1993 and responsible for judging members of the government in office.
Eric Dupond-Moretti was tried there for “illegal taking of interests” for having, according to the prosecution, settled scores with the judiciary, with whom he had dealings at the time when he was a lawyer. He was notably accused of having used his position in the government to try to obtain sanctions against four magistrates who were investigating his clients or relatives.
Elisabeth Borne “rejoiced” at this decision this Wednesday, in a message published on X (formerly Twitter). “The Minister of Justice will be able to continue to carry out his action within the government team” added the Prime Minister. Eric Dupont-Moretti was also at the Elysée this afternoon, for an interview with Emmanuel Macron, probably one of the first relieved by the acquittal of his minister.
No intentionality of illegal taking of interests
If the offense of illegal taking of interests has been “established” by the Court, its intentional nature will therefore not have been proven, leading to this decision not to convict the Minister of Justice. “In the absence of characterization of the intentional element of illegal taking of interests, Mr. Dupond-Moretti must be acquitted,” concluded the President of the Court of Justice of the Republic, this Wednesday
“At no time” did the minister “express […] animosity, contempt or a desire for revenge” towards the four magistrates whom he had criticized when he was a lawyer, and against whom he had opened an administrative investigation as Keeper of the Seals, declared the president of the CJR Dominique Pauthe , who had called the minister to the stand before starting to read the reasons for the decision. The court also considered that he had not been “warned” of the conflict of interest.
“For us, it is the victory of the law, it is the victory of the presumption of innocence. But it is also, somewhere, the victory of the separation of powers”, welcomed the lawyer of ‘Eric Dupond-Moretti, Me Jacqueline Laffont. “I would also like to say that it is the victory of a man, not against an institution. But perhaps, and we hope for it, the time of harmony rediscovered in the judicial family”, a- she added.
The prosecution had requested a one-year suspended prison sentence, stating its “conviction” that Eric Dupond-Moretti was indeed guilty of illegal taking of interests. The minister is “not guilty of anything”, his defense responded, pleading for acquittal. But a conviction, even “the lowest”, even “the most ridiculous”, “would be enough” to lead to his “resignation”, his lawyers argued
The decision of the CJR, already recorded before this Wednesday, had been kept secret. The judges met following the trial, which was held from November 6 to 16, to deliberate. Before reading it in public, the three professional magistrates and 12 parliamentarians from all sides who make up the court met one last time in the morning to validate its drafting.
A surprise appointment
The appointment of this tenor of the bar, nicknamed “Acquittator” – due to the number of acquittals obtained for his clients during his career as a criminal lawyer – to the Castex government, on July 6, 2020, was extremely surprising, in particular because of his reputedly difficult relations with the judiciary.
It was finally after a little over a year in government that the legal troubles began for the Minister of Justice, including an extremely rare search of Place Vendôme, at the headquarters of the Ministry of Justice. On July 16, 2021, Eric Dupond-Moretti was finally indicted by the Court of Justice of the Republic for “illegal taking of interests”.
This Wednesday afternoon at the Elysée
If Eric Dupond-Moretti was therefore acquitted, this long legal procedure will have contributed to weakening the government of Elisabeth Borne, while the Minister of Labor Olivier Dussopt is also before the courts for favoritism, concerning a call for tenders in 2009 when he was mayor of the town of Annonay.
Maintained in the government throughout his indictment, the future of the Minister of Justice in the government seems partly clarified with this release. Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne had been quite clear about the future of Eric Dupond-Moretti in government in the event of conviction, evoking a “clear rule” already “applied”, in reference to Minister Alain Griset who resigned in 2021 after his conviction.
While Emmanuel Macron had affirmed during his 2017 presidential campaign that under his presidency, an indicted minister will have to resign, this promise therefore turned out to be more vague than announced. Government spokesperson Olivier Véran justified this change of heart this week, affirming that the ministers were “litigants like the others” and “therefore had the right to the presumption of innocence like the others”. “Many referrals” to justice “result in a complete acquittal of those concerned,” he also commented, adding: “It’s a shame, you were innocent, your political life is over and we needed you and we had to deprive ourselves of your talent.”