Europe1 .fr with AFP 9:49 a.m., December 7, 2022
For the first time, the telephone exchanges at the heart of the "wiretapping" affair involving Nicolas Sarkozy were first broadcast in a courtroom on the second day of the ex-president's appeal trial for corruption and influence peddling.
The telephone interceptions at the heart of the "wiretapping" affair involving Nicolas Sarkozy were broadcast for the first time in a courtroom on Tuesday, the second day of the appeal trial of the former president for corruption and trafficking in influence.
Technical reasons had prevented their dissemination during the first instance trial, at the end of which Nicolas Sarkozy, his historic lawyer Thierry Herzog and the former magistrate Gilbert Azibert had been sentenced to three years in prison, including one year firm.
Broadcast on Tuesday by loudspeakers, these exchanges made the Paris Court of Appeal hear several conversations held at the beginning of 2014 between Nicolas Sarkozy and Me Herzog on an open line under the alias "Paul Bismuth", which they thought was the shelter of the investigators.
According to the prosecution's thesis, contested by the defendants, these conversations substantiate the existence of a corruption pact entered into with Gilbert Azibert, to whom support for his career was promised in return for interventions linked to a decision of the Court of Cassation on the presidential agendas of Nicolas Sarkozy.
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The Bismuth line bugged
Gilbert Azibert would thus have informed Me Herzog of the opinion of the rapporteur adviser in this case and would have tried to influence the deliberations in the high court of which he himself was a member.
"There... He worked huh", summarizes Me Herzog to Nicolas Sarkozy on January 29, 2014.
A few days later, the lawyer reports to the ex-president that Gilbert Azibert covets a position in the judicial hierarchy in Monaco.
"He said to me: 'I dare not ask. Maybe I should have a helping hand'. Well, I told him 'you're kidding, with what you do...'", says Mr Herzog.
"No, 'don't worry', tell him," replies Nicolas Sarkozy.
"Call him today and say I'll take care of it because I'm going to Monaco."
A commitment he will reiterate on February 25 while he is visiting the Principality.
"Ok, you can tell him that (...) at noon I will do the process".
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The next day, however, a radical change of tone: Nicolas Sarkozy calls his lawyer, this time using one of his official telephones, to tell him that he will not finally intercede in favor of the magistrate.
"I told you I would. And then I thought, it's going to look very weird," he says.
According to the investigators, this reversal would be linked to the fact that Nicolas Sarkozy and his lawyer learned that the Bismuth line was also tapped.
An investigation by the National Financial Prosecutor's Office, however, failed to identify a possible mole.