Costa asked four times to consult the Influencer process. It was always refused

The former prime minister has already been refused four requests to the Public Ministry to access the process that led to his dismissal. The reason given is the secrecy of justice.

For more than a year, António Costa has been trying, unsuccessfully, to access the process in which he is being investigated. According to , the Public Ministry (MP) has already refused four requests of the former prime minister to consult the Operation Influencer process, claiming that the records remain confidential.

Costa’s first request occurred in April 2024, shortly after the case left the Supreme Court of Justice, where he was while serving as prime minister. The case was then passed to prosecutor Rita Madeira, from DCIAP, who refused access. However, the secrecy of justice would only be decreed at the end of May, after an order from the investigating judge, subsequent to the request presented by Costa. After being heard as a deponent on May 24ththe current president of the European Council repeated the request three more times and was always denied.

The main process of Operation Influencer has already become accessible to those involved, after the end of internal legal secrecy. However, Costa is investigated in a separate processwhose content remains inaccessible.

The investigation into the former prime minister originated from 20 telephone taps included in the Influencer process, in which Costa appears to have been accidentally caught talking to defendants under wiretapping. However, it was mainly conversations between the defendants that motivated the opening of an independent investigation. In one of them, the then Secretary of State Tiago Silveira describes to the former CEO of Start Campus that spent “four hours” with Costastating that he was “enthusiastic” about a measure from Simplex Industrial, referred to as the “trickster law”, which was allegedly tailored to benefit the company that managed the Sines data center.

Despite having been heard and claiming to have clarified all doubts, Costa continues not knowing if he will be accused or what the possible crime is. This week, the Attorney General of the Republic justified the delay with a “pending” appeal presented by defendants; This appeal was already decided and is not related to Costa’s individual case.

Meanwhile, the former prime minister continues his European activity, ensuring that he ended his national political career “without regrets”.