Chirac refuses to be questioned in French probe into smear scandal
PARIS (AP) -- Citing his past judicial immunity, former French President Jacques Chirac refused to be questioned in a probe into an apparent smear scandal involving his successor, his office said Friday.
Judges want to question Chirac about the so-called Clearstream affair, his office said in a statement. The murky scandal centered on false allegations that current President Nicolas Sarkozy, a onetime Chirac protege turned political rival, had secret bank accounts.
Chirac's office said that because he enjoyed constitutional immunity as president, he cannot "be ordered to provide testimony" about incidents that happened during his tenure.
Chirac wrote to the investigating judges to inform them of his position, the statement said.
The former president faces a slew of potential legal problems now that he no longer has the immunity, which expired a week ago. He handed over power to Sarkozy on May 16.
In particular, Chirac faces a complex legal dilemma with three other cases that his name has been linked to, since they involve his time as Paris mayor from 1977-1995.
Those investigations also present greater potential consequences. In the Clearstream case, judges only want to question him as a material witness, whereas in at least two other cases he could face preliminary charges.
Friday's statement said Chirac was willing to cooperate with judges probing events before his 1995-2007 presidential tenure.
The 74-year-old Chirac reiterated his denial of wrongdoing in the Clearstream case Friday.
Judges Jean-Marie d'Huy and Henri Pons are trying to determine who was behind allegations that emerged in 2004 that Sarkozy, leading businessmen and secret agents kept accounts at the Luxembourg bank Clearstream to hold kickbacks from the 1991 sale of French frigates to Taiwan.
Accusations have emerged that Chirac and Dominique de Villepin -- a Sarkozy rival and Chirac ally who was a government minister when the scandal broke -- ordered a former special agent to investigate the allegations even though they knew they were fake. Villepin has been questioned at length in the case, and also denies wrongdoing.
Sarkozy contends the phony accusations amount to a smear campaign. Sarkozy, Villepin and Chirac all come from the same conservative political camp.
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
