Justice ministry to investigate findings of Russian influence commission

The Justice Minister referred to the report presented by General Jarosław Stróżyk during Wednesday's meeting of the Council of Ministers.

He stated on the X platform that he was "moved by the findings made by the Commission for investigating Russian influence." He declared the "full readiness of the prosecutor's office to investigate the circumstances indicated in the notifications directed by the Commission." He concluded by thanking General Stróżyk and the entire commission for their work and announced "further support" from the Ministry of Justice.

On Wednesday, during a conversation on Radio Nowy Świat, Bodnar stated that "a special team of prosecutors will be appointed" to address issues related to former defence minister Antoni Macierewicz, a leader of the PiS party.

General Jarosław Stróżyk, head of the commission investigating Russian and Belarusian influence, stated that "the thesis that the president’s entourage is concealing information regarding the actions of the Minister of Defense from 2015 to 2018, namely Antoni Macierewicz, is justified." The commission recommended "referring the collected materials to the prosecutor’s office for legal assessment regarding the possibility of committing the crime of diplomatic treason by Antoni Macierewicz."

Asked about the findings of the commission at a press conference on Wednesday, Macierewicz said that for now, "we are dealing solely with propaganda." He stated that his "crime" is what no other Minister of National Defense has managed to do, which is to ensure that Poland is safe through an alliance with the United States.

"Never before has this happened. It was the most important decision for us so that Poland could benefit from the support of the United States in the face of military threats from Russia," he pointed out.

"The second 'scandal' that I created at that time was increasing the military from just under 90,000 to 125,000. That is indeed a scandalous matter. After all, I also established the Territorial Defense Force. That's a scandal, it's terrible, it's a crime," Macierewicz remarked ironically.

Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski announced that President Andrzej Duda should strip Macierewicz of the Order of the White Eagle. "If it were up to me, he would lose it that same day," said the head of the MFA. "For what Antoni Macierewicz has done to Poland over the past 30 years, he should have been imprisoned long ago. I hope he will finally be imprisoned," Sikorski stated.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Donald Tusk declared that the report from the commission's work contains "strong theses" and "strong findings." The head of the government stated that three words stood out most in his memory: "(Antoni) Macierewicz, prosecutor’s office, and treason."

Asked about the report’s information regarding the "lack of reaction" to signals of planned Russian aggression against Ukraine, he replied that "this is a very good question" for the then authorities. He emphasized that they "had more privileged knowledge" than he did. "Instead of organizing a defense front for Ukraine, they organized a front of Putin's supporters, and the public should remember this."

The work of the commission investigating Russian influence and the problem teams it appointed was supervised by the Ministry of Justice. The ministry informed that 38 meetings of the commission have been held so far. The appointed body received information from the Polish Investment and Trade Agency, the Internal Security Agency (ABW), the Military Counterintelligence Service, and NASK, among others. In addition to General Stróżyk, the commission consisted of 11 specialists recommended by the Prime Minister and key heads of ministries involved in this matter.