‘All rules of law have been violated in this judgement’ says Le Pen ally

We’re joined from France by Bruno Gollnisch, a former MEP from Marine Le Pen’s party, who was also found guilty today of embezzling EU funds.

Krishnan Guru-Murthy: You’ve been found guilty. Are you sorry?

Bruno Gollnisch: I am indignant. Can you say that in English? I didn’t steal a single penny, not a single euro. We only had assistants. They were paid. The job was obviously to help us and to help our party. It was absolutely, how would I say, customary in the European Parliament, of which I have been a respected member during, also in the position, during 30 years. And this judgment is absolutely unbelievable. First of all, all rules of law, the true rules of law have been violated. And first of all the principle of separation of the judicial and how to say, legislative, can you say that in English? I’m sorry, my English is getting poorer and poorer. This is a fundamental principle of our constitution and of yours, by the way. The judge, the judicial, had nothing to do with the business of parliamentary assistants. That was stated by the most, sorry, the highest authorities in constitutional law of our country said, if, would the judge do so, they infringe the work of the members of parliament themselves, and that’s what happened.

“I didn’t steal a single penny, not a single euro.” – Bruno Gollnisch

Krishnan Guru-Murthy: But the law is the law. You may not have benefited from this money personally, but you misspent it. You claimed it for one thing, and you spent it on another. The money was intended to be spent on people working in the European Parliament. And instead, it was being spent on party workers. In some cases, people who weren’t even political, but was a bodyguard in Marine Le Pen’s case. That is a misuse of public money. French public, British public as well in those days.

Bruno Gollnisch: Not at all, sir. I will explain (to) you. First of all, for example, my assistant, the three assistants I was prosecuted for, were so-called local assistants. According to the regulations of the European Parliament themselves, they have no right to come to Strasbourg nor to come to Brussels. So we are elected on a national basis. We have no small constituency. The constituency is a country as a whole. What else? These assistants could not assist to legal committees. They could not participate in group meetings.

Krishnan Guru-Murthy: No, so they shouldn’t have been paid with that money.

Bruno Gollnisch: They could… Sorry, sorry. They couldn’t assist to the votes and so on. What else could they do rather than to help the members of parliament in their political duties? That’s what they did as anybody does in the European Parliament.

Krishnan Guru-Murthy: Well, the fact that other people break the rules is not an excuse, is it? We are familiar with this excuse in British politics, where MPs were often found guilty of expenses infringements as well. Just because one person was doing it doesn’t excuse another. What will you do? Will you appeal?

Bruno Gollnisch: You will be a good prosecutor in a Moscow trial, for example. That’s what exactly was…

Krishnan Guru-Murthy: Well, the rules are the rules, and you lost, so will you appeal?

Bruno Gollnisch: No, no, it is not the rule of law. I tell you, all rules of law have been violated by this judgment, which is not a fair judgment, and it is an attempt to prevent people to vote, for the person who is the leader of the opposition, exactly, exactly like in Romania. And it is not by chance, because it is the common political trend in the European Union now to ban people who challenge the system. That’s what we did, and that’s what we were elected for.

“All rules of law have been violated by this judgment” – Bruno Gollnisch

Krishnan Guru-Murthy: Will you serve your sentence, which is a tag, or will you go to jail? Or will you appeal?

Bruno Gollnisch: If necessary, I will go to jail, and I will still claim that I am perfectly innocent. I was a respected member of this parliament. I didn’t embezzle a single euro, and my assistants worked for what the people who elected me had intended, when they did.

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