When Rachida Dati arrives at the stand, Monday, September 21, early in the afternoon, she stands straight again, ready for the continuation of her interrogation, which began Thursday evening. On this third day of hearing, the president of the court, Claire Saas, focuses on the activity of Rachida Dati during her first mandate as MEP, between 2009 and 2014. Because if the elected official finds herself judged before the Paris criminal court, it is in particular because she is suspected of having served "as a Trojan horse for Carlos Ghosn and Renault, within the European Parliament", as the judges describe it. of instruction, in return for the tidy sum of 900,000 euros, paid for three years.
This amount is her lawyer's fees, a professional activity which started in February 2010. At the time, MEP Rachida Dati did not see any mixing of genres: she took on the double hat. "I obviously have in mind to compartmentalize. (...) I have always been used to carrying out activities next to each other", justifies the defendant, whose outfit, dark pantsuit over white blouse, is always as neat. However, as the president of the court points out, it was only 19 months after taking the oath that Rachida Dati made her status as a lawyer known to the European Parliament. “Nothing was done too late or omitted,” retorts the former MEP, who assures that all her declarations “were regular” and “respected the rules of the European Parliament”.
“They didn’t need me”
The president of the court, Claire Saas, concedes: it is over the years that the European Parliament's regulations have become stricter. However, at the time of Rachida Dati's election, the code of conduct, extracts of which are projected on the big screen in the courtroom, was already clear. MEPs are prohibited from entering into any "agreement leading them to act or vote in the interest of a third party natural or legal person", must ensure "to avoid any situation of corruption" and, "in the event of ambiguity", can request an "opinion" from the Advisory Committee on the Conduct of MEPs.
Why didn't Rachida Dati use it? “I have never been in a situation of conflict of interest,” she assures. All the actions of my function were carried out in accordance with my mandate, and without any link with my client, who was Renault-Nissan.
“No one has ever asked me to lobby to act within the European Parliament.”
Rachida Dati
before the Paris criminal court
Her statements clash with the results of her first mandate as MEP. “You produced 72 written questions during the 7th legislature, including three concerning the automobile sector,” notes the president of the court. According to the magistrates, these three written questions constitute the counterparts of the corruption pact which would have been established with the former CEO of Renault. A lobbying activity that Rachida Dati is suspected of having carried out outside the framework imposed by the European Parliament.
But the defendant disputes everything. These written questions were, according to him, the work of his parliamentary assistants, who “identified a subject linked to current events”. Another piece of evidence according to Rachida Dati: "I have never met any member of the lobbyist office, I have never met a representative of the alliance, or of Renault, on these parliamentary questions." “They didn’t need me,” she adds shortly after. Rachida Dati accepts it: she was “not very present” in the European Parliament. “I didn’t live there, I didn’t sleep there,” she explains.
“It’s the European news of the time”
Rachida Dati does not let anyone shake her: her statements show relative confidence. But his speech rate, which sometimes accelerates, like on Thursday, betrays discomfort in front of the court. In an even voice, President Claire Saas continues, and asks why she sent Carlos Ghosn her written question on the noise level of vehicles. “Did you send it to all the car manufacturers?”, points out the magistrate. Rachida Dati kicks into touch.
The noose tightens a little more when the president of the court focuses on a “white note”, contained in a blue sleeve, on which Carlos Ghosn’s initials are written. Photos of the documents are shown at the hearing. We thus discover that in an email dated February 8, 2013, Rachida Dati's parliamentary assistant suggested a handwritten note, with this sentence: "We obtained a great victory this week in Strasbourg on the text concerning the sound level of vehicles."
The defendant refutes the term "white note" but struggles to justify its content, speaking of a "handwritten note addressed to the entire sector". “It’s the European news of the time”, invokes Rachida Dati, who speaks of a subject of “general interest”. To ensure that this “white note” was not only intended for Carlos Ghosn, she ensures that it was a draft of his newsletter, with information collected “from open source”. However, when the famous newsletter is projected on the screen, we do not see the word "automobile" appear once.
“I had other clients, sometimes at the same time”
When Rachida Dati is questioned about her interventions abroad, in Morocco, Turkey, Iran and Algeria, also carried out within the framework of her lawyer agreement with the company RNVB, her explanations do not seem to convince either. Because of these missions, she did not keep any documents. “I had a notebook in which I noted the progress of the project, all of which I didn’t keep,” she eludes. “Did Carlos Ghosn have had something else in mind, was there a misunderstanding between Carlos Ghosn and yourself on the content of the mission?”, insists the president at the conclusion of her questioning.
In response, Rachida Dati launches into a long tirade: “I am not an amateur, Madam President, I have had other clients, sometimes at the same time.”
“Why would I have been corrupt and lobbied when I had all the freedom to have other clients?”
Rachida Dati
before the Paris criminal court
“The incomprehension for me was when the judicial investigation was opened, the incomprehension was for me when I was referred to the court.” Carlos Ghosn "didn't need me for three written questions", sweeps away Rachida Dati. A point to which he will still have to return, facing the civil parties and the National Financial Prosecutor's Office, who will be able to ask him their questions during the next hearing, Wednesday afternoon.
