Yesterday nationalist party SNS MP, Igor Stefanov, who is accused in the dubious ‘notice’board’ tender, tried to hit back by announcing that according to a well-informed source, he knew that interior minister Daniel Lipsic was aware of around 40 MPs and journalists having their calls tapped.
Stefanov says those being tapped include MPs from both benches, the coalition and the opposition. Stefanov claimed that minister Lipsic was trying to concentrate power around himself, collecting information on his opponents so he could put pressure on them if necessary.
The Ministry of Interior pointed to the appropriate timing of Stefanov’s statements, as a proposal to strip him of his MP immunity has been lodged with the Attorney General’s Office over criminal charges in the case. Ministry spokeswoman, Lucia Garajova, used an analogy on TV saying ‘a drowning man will even clutch at straws’.
Interior Minister Daniel Lipsic reiterated this thesis, while saying that such practices do not work on him. Lipsic declared that all phone tapping is done in line with the law with court approval and is under constant supervision. He said he did not know if MPs were being tapped and that he didn’t even want to know who was being tapped.
Lipsic made it clear that the old days were over and that his ministry and the police would go after anyone breaking the law. He said Stefanov and others like him should start getting used to this fact.