The silent and slavish Attorney General

Minister Jonathan Attard told Attorney General Victoria Buttigieg what to do. He decided for her. He didn’t let her speak.  He answered for her. And she just stood there – submissive, subservient, silent – and let the minister humiliate her and her office.

Attard walked all over the AG.  In front of the cameras. Imagine what happens off-camera behind closed doors.

If anybody were tempted to believe Labour’s mantra that institutions are independent or that they’re allowed to “work serenely”, Attard’s public domination of the servile Victoria Buttigieg must have changed their mind forever.

Minister Attard was addressing a press conference about justice reforms intended to shorten the period for the compilation of evidence. AG Victoria Buttigieg was there in a rare public appearance.

So was her predecessor Peter Grech, no longer as AG or former AG, but in his new role as a consultant to the Justice Minister.

Peter Grech looked jovial and happy. No wonder.  He’s just been given his third €68,000 contract for consultancy services. Grech was forced to resign in disgrace over his willful inaction over the Panama Papers scandal.

He advised the police against seizing Nexia BT’s servers labelling such a move as “drastic” and “highly intrusive”. He advised against sealing off Pilatus Bank in the wake of the Egrant scandal.

Robert Aquilina’s recent revelations about Pilatus highlight the rottenness of that decision. Grech’s decisions served only to protect Joseph Muscat, Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi and to shield Labour from the inevitable fallout from the truth.

The Shift revealed how within days of his resignation as AG, Grech was awarded a lucrative €7,000 a month consultancy by then Justice Minister Edward Zammit Lewis. Zammit Lewis failed to declare that Grech’s son is married to his niece. Zammit Lewis is particularly close to his niece and was a witness to her marriage.

Zammit Lewis was also close to Joseph Muscat, who was the main beneficiary of Peter Grech’s inaction. Zammit Lewis is gone but Grech’s annual reward keeps coming. The man who failed his duty to the country to protect Labour keeps raking in tens of thousands of euros from our taxes.

Peter Grech’s presence at that press conference, mingling with journalists and smiling broadly at the camera, shows only the level of Labour’s contempt for the public and Grech’s shamelessness. Labour rewards failure generously, especially when that failure serves its scandalous purposes.

Grech’s presence at the minister’s side was intentional. It sends out the real message – that the institutions are not independent at all and that they are under Labour’s absolute control.

And those leading the institutions must have got the message – if you cooperate with Labour, you won’t be forgotten. Labour will reward you, handsomely.

And don’t worry about shame. You will be rehabilitated. You will be back in the limelight. You will enjoy your life.  You don’t need to hide away. Your career will progress. You’ll get to advise the Minister, to shape the country’s future despite your shockingly abysmal and immoral failures.

No matter how much harm you inflicted on the country, the taxpayer will keep paying you tens of thousands of euros. And you will never need to answer for your actions, or rather, your inaction.

But back to Grech’s successor Victoria Buttigieg.

The Times reporter Mark Laurence Zammit stood up to ask a question at that press conference: “Don’t the recent revelations, that the AG and the police top brass colluded to spare Pilatus officials prosecution, worry you? And while the AG is here, I would like to ask her that question too”.

Justice Minister Jonathan Attard immediately interjected to shield his AG. “Ask me,” he insisted. “This is not new information,” the minister claimed bizarrely, “because it’s been used in court procedures.” Those procedures are being held behind closed doors at the AG’s insistence.

“We either have faith in our institutions or we don’t. I personally have faith in all our institutions – the courts, the AG’s office,” Attard replied with typical antagonistic hostility.

“Can I have an answer from the AG?” the reporter insisted.  “No, no, with all due respect, let’s continue, with respect to your colleagues so they can ask questions,” the minister menaced.

It didn’t end there. After the press conference Minister Attard attempted to intimidate and strong-arm the reporter: “You don’t have any respect, no respect, you really don’t have any respect,” the minister bullied as he walked around the reporter.

Politely and calmly,  the reporter replied, “I truly don’t agree with you, I am asking my questions with great respect.”

“It’s irrelevant whether you agree with me, you have no respect,” the minister continued to bully.

The Justice Minister was tormenting and harassing journalists and physically attempting to stop them from getting close to the AG to ask her questions before the camera.

In full view of the whole nation, Attard marched around, making threatening comments to journalists while his staff prevented them from doing their job.  Why was Jonathan Attard intervening on behalf of the AG, who should be heading an independent and autonomous institution?

Couldn’t the AG answer for herself?  If she felt she couldn’t answer questions she should have explained that her legal responsibilities prevented her from divulging more information in public.

But she could also have reassured the public that her decisions were taken in good faith and in the national interest.

The AG instead escaped, comically waddling away at her top speed, desperately trying to evade the increasingly insistent questions about why she let Darren Debono off the hook or why she colluded with the police to exculpate the daughter of Robert Abela’s canvasser.

Why is she shielding Pilatus? Why is she so servile to Labour? Why is she doing Labour’s bidding instead of serving justice and the Constitution?

Jonathan Attard’s conference showed beyond any doubt who’s in control and who’s calling the shots.

The domineering bully, the former Super One hack and Chris Cardona consultant Jonathan Attard now has the slavish, pliant, servile AG under his thumb.

Victoria Buttigieg has no authority, no spine and no pride.

No wonder Labour chose her.