The Chamber of Deputies, by secret ballot, approved with 206 votes in favor and 133 against the proposal of the majority rapporteur in the authorization committee to deny the Prosecutor's Office the acquisition of the chats of MP and former Undersecretary of Justice, Andrea Delmastro.
And a brawl broke out in Montecitorio. Five Star Movement MPs left their seats and marched to the majority benches, holding their cell phones high (the Movement's #fuorilechat campaign). At that point, shouts, protests, and chants erupted, and the session was suspended. Even the AVS MPs put on a show, blindfolding themselves in protest.
"We never want to hear Paolo Borsellino mentioned again and say that he would have been a minister in this government because the memory of state servants belongs to everyone," said the secretary of the Democratic Party, Elly.
Schlein.
"Here today we're talking about a shield: against the high cost of living, falling wages, the collapse of industrial production? No, a shield for your party friends. These are your priorities with regard to the citizens, from whom you are light years away," said M5S leader Giuseppe Conte. "The majority is preparing to shield a party friend by restricting a citizen's right to defense, so you also disregard constitutional rights. You have brought dishonor to the institutions; the shield belongs to you by mentality."
The Prosecutor's Office wanted to read the messages between Delmastro and Mauro Caroccia, a restaurateur convicted of mafia crimes. The former Undersecretary of Justice held shares in a restaurant owned by Miriam Caroccia, Mauro's daughter, who prosecutors believe may have been used as a front to open the restaurant.
According to the Prosecutor's Office, those chats could have been "fundamental" in verifying the Caroccias' version and reconstructing the management of the Bisteccherie d'Italia restaurant.
(Unioneonline)