Sebastian Ghita and his role in the election of 2009. The series "We Are the State!" continues to deliver new comments, some more stuffy, others more calm, but all got to be circumscribed to the facts that took place on the night of 6-7 December 2009, they respectively refer to the episode in which I described a meeting in the house of Gabriel Oprea.
It has been said, correctly, that at that time, Gabriel Oprea was (just) an independent parliamentary, but I can show any time that he was a highly influential politician in the camp of those who supported Traian Basescu for a second term and very close to the leadership of SRI at that time.
Gabriel Oprea has met George Maior in PSD, and Florian Coldea was close, being his benefactor. I described in a previous episode how Gabriel Oprea has saved Florian Coldea's military career. In 2007, Gabriel Oprea has obtained in the scandal with the compromising notes that can be used against some judges of the Constitutional Court, written by former first Deputy SRI, not to be taken any disciplinary or criminal measures, although we are dealing with a genuine case of political police.
Relations between them have been consolidated over time, 2008 episode in which Gabriel Oprea became Minister of Internal Affairs as a result of a tight competition within the PSD with Cătălin Voicu, being eloquent. Then there was a massive involvement of some officials, with the belief that if the Ministry of Internal will be taken by Catalin Voicu, exponent of the group Mitica Iliescu- Marian Vanghelie-Viorel Hrebenciuc, the battle of dossiers would become much tougher. While presidential elections were very close.
A hard to explain presence. Laura Codruta Kovesi at Gabriel Oprea’s home.
What was Laura Codruta Kovesi doing that night (6-7 December 2009), General Prosecutor of Romania, together with her Deputy Prime, in the house of Gabriel Oprea, is one of the sensitive issues of that night, and the majority of those who tried to discredit my account had this issue in mind. Because it is proof of involvement beyond the limits laid down by the code of conduct and legal provisions valid in the case of a magistrate.
Because the presence of Laura Codruta Kovesi as General Prosecutor of Romania in that night home at Gabriel Oprea is the only one that cannot be explained, a deep silence has installed.
Any response would be weird! Laura Codruta Kovesi wasn't friends with Gabriel Oprea, she didn't know Neculai Onțanu, at whose name day the host claimed that invited us, she had nothing to be concerned about losing or winning elections by Traian Basescu, could not be concerned about Realitatea TV's attitude in the heat of the election battle. She was, however, in extremely close relations with George Maior, head of the SRI, and Florian Coldea, Prime Deputy SRI.
Gabriel Oprea’s babble. Here is the table, there’s no table…
Gabriel Oprea was the only one who has tried to explain something without saying anything concrete about the presence of Florian Coldea and Laura Codruta Kovesi at his home in election night.
Only that he managed to make public two versions in 6 days.
The first one in April 13 2017:
"I watch TV and my head hurts. I announced that I give a meal at my house. It was Onțanu's birthday. I invited Mr Andronic, Anghel Iordănescu, Vasile Dîncu, I invited also Mr. Maior. The meal lasted until 22:30-23:00. I don't know what each discussed, I've been doing my duty as host. It was a simple meal", said Gabriel Oprea.
"I'll explain each moment. I don't deny that Mr. Coldea was present, but I want to explain exactly. You should know that there are meals between friends or among colleagues and doesn't take all night. It took just two hours and a half and it was just a meal. My wife insisted that I go in", also said Gabriel Oprea.
The next, after 6 days, also at Mihai Gadea:
Oprea: -I make a statement, as we understood. It was a simple dinner. I never organized the birthday or the name day for Mr. Ontanu. It was a dinner, meal was served, we watched TV, of course, I said happy birthday to Mr. Onţanu. I told you the people I, Gabriel Oprea, have invited: Mr. Maior, Mr. Dîncu, Mr. Iordănescu, Mr. Andronic and Mr. Onţanu. With the risk of disappointing, it was an informal meeting.
Gâdea: - Have Mr. Coldea and Mrs. Kovesi been at this dinner, or not?
Oprea: - Once again I tell you, Mr. Gâdea: these are the people that, I, Gabriel Oprea, invited at this dinner.
Gâdea: - Mrs. Kovesi and Mr. Coldea came uninvited by you?
Oprea: - I believe I was very clear.
Gâdea: - You can't disprove that Mrs.Kovesi and Mr. Coldea were at your home, so they come on their own initiative?
Oprea: - I made a statement, I was fair, considering the personal relationship with you, and I think I made the clarifications concerned. It was an informal meeting, it was a dinner, this shall be proven, it wasn't anything political. We dined and we watched TV”.
No comments...
I haven't talked about election fraud, but about the involvement of senior officials
Subsequent comments that aimed my report left from the premise that going from what I described in the article electoral fraud buds were reveling. And here I think some explanations are needed.
Indeed, then, on the night of December 6, 2009, home at GABRIEL OPREA, I met with GEORGE MAIOR, head of the SRI, Gen. FLORIAN COLDEA, his Prime Deputy, LAURA CODRUTA KOVESI, Prosecutor-General of Romania, in Oprea's office. In the house there were also NECULAI ONȚANU, PUIU IORDĂNESCU, people who had no formal quality, I suspect they were there as friends or relatives.
I spent 1-2 hours with them talking, as I previously wrote, about the outcome of the election, about the strategy that PSD would follow, how it can be quenched part of the media, Laura Codruta Kovesi's problem that evening.
I stated that I heard Kovesi twice answering the phone "Yes, Sir, Mr. President", that SRI General Florian Coldea received on the phone information about votes, the whole discussion being in political context, dedicated to presidential elections. I didn't mention that they spoke with Traian Basescu, Mircea Geoana or the BEC president, since I was not a part of those phone conversations. But they had a clear political character!
How those from PSD were covered by LCK
I would like to explain once again that that doesn't mean I indicated that there occurred an electoral fraud. I recounted this episode of 2009 elections to much better understand the core of the series that I wrote starting more than two months ago. To demonstrate that Operation "We Are the State!" is not related to some isolated incidents, but rather reflects a state of affairs reinforced in time.
Yet, I stated that, on that night, I attended a POLITICAL INVOLVEMENT of certain senior officials of the State in an electoral process. Not in the sense in which they moved the votes from side to side, but in the sense in which they have located themselves directly and unequivocally on the side of a candidate.
An interesting statement came from Cozmin Gusa, who, trying to cover the head of DNA, said:
"One element: I have not felt in 2009 Laura Codruta Kovesi's involvement. There were no files, no threats. Sure, I have no doubt that Laura Codruta Kovesi was asked by Basescu. An involvement in Traian Basecu's campaign was not felt" said Cozmin Gușă, ex-head of Mircea Geoana's campaign in 2009.
Only that there is some truth in it: we have a materiel in progress in which we document the way, while she was Attorney general, Kovesi buried some folders of certain PSD members. So Cozmin Gușă remembers correctly.
How far the involvement of officials went. How did PSD supervise the opposing camp.
Could this State senior officials influence the outcome of the vote?
It is a question that hasn't got its response (not just) in the events of that night, and trying to get an answer from me by Yes or No is doomed to failure.
Because in a normal system, these answers should be given by the State institutions, not by various participants in talk shows.
I told what I saw that night and that's all.
Something else must be said.
Gabriel Oprea's reaction was also triggered by the interview the former head of the SPP and the national security adviser Dumitru (Mitica) Iliescu gave 5-6 days ago.
He confirmed my story, giving shivers to participants.
"Certain information got to me concerning the meeting in question. I understood that there were more people there, military and civilians. The information got to me the second or third day. It was also discussed that Basescu could lose the elections. Elements related to elections abroad came, but I have no evidence", said Dumitru Iliescu.
It results that the PSD knew of this meeting.
The relationships Dragnea-Ponta-Coldea, the high level tennis parties, the birthdays from the villas-military target of SRI, K2, K4 and T14, Laura Codruta Kovesi's interventions in favor of the SRI Generals questioned by DNA were also known?
A response for Traian Basescu
"I have a terrible query. I understand that Sebastian Ghita also had a very important role in the election of 2009. I can also agree with the very important part of Codruta Kovesi and the very important part of Maior and the extraordinarily important role of Coldea and with the role of Ontanu and the role of Dîncu. I can agree with all the parts. What I don't understand is if these people have somehow changed the outcome of the election, have fixed protocols, gave order to reverse the result?" said Traian Basescu, recently.
What was the role of Sebastian Ghita in the rapid events of 2009?
In order to give a response I believe we have to make a link between the two moments described in the last articles.
In 2009, while in Gabriel Oprea's house this meeting was taking place, not at all coincidental, at PSD were put up the bases of an extremely bold strategy.
As I said before, the group VANGHELIE-HREBENCIUC-VOICU had no plan to lay down their weapons, being convinced that the electoral process has been defrauded, in particular through the diaspora result.
These opinions were also reinforced by the fact that PSD had sent in the diaspora a group of former intelligence officers, coordinated by ex-general from SIE ADRIAN ISAC, who attempted to supervise elections in the diaspora. Their report, as one of the PSD responsible declared, was disappointing. For Mircea Geoana's chances.
Earlier in the day, on December 7, just after recovering, the PSD group without thinking to give up has established a crisis cell in which an extremely daring strategy, unprecedented, was set. A chain of legal action, in parallel being planned demonstrations of 100.000 people in Bucharest, as I told in the previous article.
Who alerted the State
About these things, generally discussed as early as the night of December 6, 2009, the SRI received information. They took it very seriously, especially since on the name of PSD Senator Catalin Voicu there was a warrant for wiretaps on national security even from September.
PSD were also supervising those from the opposing camp, as shown by the statements of General Dumitru Iliescu: "Kovesi was also at that meeting. Then I know that Oprea and Kovesi got close. I don't know how close. At the meeting attended higher-ranking military but also civilians, including drivers of the parties involved. I cannot reveal my sources. From information that came the next day, they talked about the election and what would happen after the election, they feared that Basescu was going to lose this election".
Only that the surprise factor was on the part of those representing the State!
As I said earlier, this information was provided not only from "eavesdropping", but also a man close to the campaign staff of Mircea Geoana. It has been speculated intensely that the man inside the PSD who gave the key information concerning the intentions of the group Voicu-Vanghelie was Victor Ponta. Cozmin Gușă, former campaign director of Mircea Geoana, confirmed this variant. Only that he has a habit of modifying past events in the light of present relations. While Victor Ponta is not one of his favorites.
The Ghita variant
I have a completely different variant: the one who gave the information regarding PSD actions was Sebastian Ghiță. It is known how close he was to Victor Ponta, as well as to the officials from SRI!
At the time, in 2009, he was already extremely close to SRI first Deputy Florian Coldea, the two families having extremely friendly relations, above normal relations. Almost every week, on Sunday, they took their meals together, and their children were growing up together.
I can't reveal the source who told me that Sebastian Ghiță warned SRI about the PSD plans, but I can tell you that this statement was made in front of me many times over time.
What I can say is that, at some point, in CSAT, according to sources in the intelligence services, President Traian Basescu called for monitoring all contracts that the firms of Sebastian Ghiță had with SRI, STS and other institutions in the field of national safety. Some of the members of CSAT defended him, not in front of the President, is true, citing the episode of the 2009 election and his contributions in blocking PSD plans.
As I said, there is a certain logic, and the subsequent events confirm it.
All I want is to remind the meeting that I had at the airport in Istanbul in February 2010 with General Florian Coldea, who was returning from a vacation in the Seychelles along with Sebastian Ghiță. And wives. The three kept their seats in business class, Florian Coldea changing place with one at economic class after meeting with me. He was afraid that Basescu would find out. The natural question is why did Florian Coldea feared?
Instead of conclusion
Could they change the outcome of elections? Hard to say, but the role of Sebastian Ghiță in those moments was important. Did he act as a mole? I would say that he was rather a member of the Operation "We Are the State!”
An important member which would be involved in any operation in which the names of Florian Coldea and Laura Codruta Kovesi obsessively comes back.