President Milanović Sees Police and DORH as Only Possible Sources of Information Leakage in JANAF Case

The President of the Republic Zoran Milanović attended a formal session of the Istria County Assembly in Pazin on the occasion of Istria County Day, after which he took questions from reporters about the JANAF case. The President insisted that Prime Minister Andrej Plenković must be knowledgeable about everything that is a burden on the system and also sees the (State Attorney’s Office) DORH as a possible source of information leakage in the JANAF case.

“The Prime Minister had to know everything that was important and a burden on the system. Where is it written that that is forbidden and that the Prime Minister should not be kept in the know? I am telling you, he had to know, because otherwise there is no one running anything, but only anonymous people hiding behind the DORH’s name. Who is the DORH, who was in charge of that case? That person has a first and last name,” President Milanović told reporters in Pazin.

“One person has the biggest responsibility, and that is the Prime Minister and he must know. And I believe that he will handle that information responsibly,” the President said, because, as he put it, otherwise we have a Prime Minister who knows nothing. “So, the Prime Minister must know that. What are you afraid of, that maybe the Prime Minister will inform those persons who are under investigation?”

The absurdity of the possibility that the Prime Minister does not know the important things for the functioning of the system was illustrated by President Milanović, with the possibility that the Prime Minister appoints, for instance, the Chief State Attorney, but does not know that he is under investigation. He also said that Ranko Ostojić, who was Minister of the Interior at the time when he was Prime Minister, was not correct when he said that he had not been informing then PM Milanović about investigations. “He was informing me, and he was not the only one, on all important things,” the President said.

President Milanović believes that DORH’s autonomy means that “there is no influence on their procedures.” “So you know that something was started, it didn’t start at your initiative, you have information about the consequences and the damage it can cause and you don’t interfere. Because as soon as you interfere it will cause damage and 50 people who are in that system will know,” the President noted.

As for information leaking from the investigation, President Milanović said that there were only two possible sources – the police and DORH, and he suspected that DORH was leaking information to the press. “Given that the DORH is more interested in this case, I suspect that the DORH is giving information to the media. And as long as that is the case – don’t complain to anyone at all. The legislators must regulate that,” the President told reporters.

He reiterated that it was not clear to him why (oil pipeline operator) JANAF CEO Dragan Kovačević had not been arrested when he had accepted a bribe and the investigation continued for 10 more months, so there was only circumstantial evidence left now.

President Milanović dismissed claims by ministers in the Plenković Government that at the time when Milanović was Prime Minister, he abolished security checks, saying that was not true. “I did not. That’s a lie. I refused to let the (Security and Intelligence Agency) SOA check my ministers, candidates for ministers, when I had to form a Government. (…) I refused that. I take responsibility for the Government,” he pointed out.

The President rejected claims that he was putting pressure on the courts. “How can I put pressure on the courts, by what means? With money, the army, the police, helicopters – not at all. But I can put pressure (by appealing to) common sense. And you know what kind of pressure that will be – unbearable,” he said.  

Asked about his visits to former JANAF CEO Kovačević’s private club in Slovenska Street, President Milanović said that he thought he had not been there during the coronavirus crisis lockdown. “I don’t think I was there, but if I was, I was accompanied by two or three people. Who says so, the Prime Minister? The one who shook hands with Novak Đoković before 5,000 people? That’s rude. It’s better for him to remain silent,” said President Milanović.