Series of attacks on judiciary align to sow doubt ahead of inquiry findings

Prime Minister Robert Abela’s criticisms of the judiciary and its work on Friday form part of a series of deliberate and corresponding attacks which span years.

The criticism is seemingly intended to sow seeds of doubt ahead of the potentially disruptive findings of a magisterial inquiry into alleged corruption by disgraced former prime minister Joseph Muscat.

An analysis by The Shift shows how Abela’s attacks replicate and align with Muscat’s, implying a coordinated effort to preemptively discredit the magisterial inquiry’s findings, lessening the blow to the Labour Party’s image at a time when the country is heading towards MEP elections.

The repeated and aligned attacks take advantage of the public’s propensity for negativity bias, leaving a lasting impression of ‘non-independent’ or ‘compromised’ judicial structures while the government ostensibly claims the institutions must be allowed to do their job: “Let the institutions work”.

Abela’s latest attack on the inquiry came on Friday, where he criticised “exaggerated” delays, cast doubts over leaks, and defended Muscat.

The criticism came at the apex of a series of attacks by the incumbent government.

The inquiry

The magisterial inquiry was led by Magistrate Gabriella Vella and launched in November 2019. It is investigating the details of the Vitals/Steward Hospitals deal, which saw three public hospitals handed over to the concessionaires in 2015 for their management and revamping.

Following a complete lack of results from the deal, the courts found it “fraudulent” in a February decision.

An appeals court sentence confirmed its illegitimacy in a ruling in October. It noted “collusion between VGH/Steward and top officials of the Maltese government to enter into simulated contracts intended not to provide medical care but for other reasons”.

Following revelations of Muscat’s consultancy with a company closely linked to Vitals, he was investigated as part of the magisterial inquiry under suspicion of being funnelled public funds intended for the hospitals.

Muscat maintains he received the funds as payment for legitimate consultancy work in an unrelated non-descript project which involved meetings with a “sitting Head of Government,” according to a letter sent to newspapers in 2022.

Attacks go back years

In late 2019, coinciding with the start of the magisterial inquiry into the hospitals deal, a public inquiry into the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was also launched.

Magisterial inquiries are held behind closed doors and investigate criminal responsibility, while public inquiries adopt a more open approach and investigate broader systemic failures.

A year later, following a decision by the public inquiry board to extend the length of its investigations, which later held the state responsible, the first of a series of aligned attacks on the Maltese judicial system was launched.

Just a few months after Abela took the helm, an unattributed statement was released by the Department of Information, decrying the independent board’s decision to extend its term to dig deeper.

In February 2022, Muscat’s home was searched as part of the magisterial inquiry into the hospitals deal.

Amid leaks of the search, attacks zeroed on Magistrate Vella as former Labour Party whip and close ally to Joseph Muscat, Glenn Bedingfield characterised it as “persecution” during a parliamentary speech.

Bedingfield went on to cast doubt on other judicial and semi-judicial authorities, such as the Standards Commissioner and the Ombudsman’s office, claiming they were infiltrated by those close to the Nationalist Party in opposition.

In implied agreement, Prime Minister Abela refused to condemn the attack.

His agreement would later be confirmed in a parliamentary outburst a little more than a year later.

2022: Muscat starts his public re-entry

Following the police search of his home, Muscat became more outspoken on social media and with select news sites.

He used the platforms to launch repeated attacks on the judicial process investigating him, calling the police search “theatrics”.

Last May, following renewed scrutiny in joint investigations between The Shift, Times of Malta, and the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), Muscat called for magistrate Vella to recuse herself from leading the inquiry.

He said the investigations amounted to a “frame-up,” casting further doubt on the inquiry and citing Vella’s family members’ years-old Facebook posts as reasons for her recusal.

Prime Minister Abela at the time did not comment on Muscat’s assertions but accused the opposition of attempting to “condition” the parallel judicial proceedings in the then-ongoing appeal on the Vitals/Steward decision by presenting further evidence in court.

Muscat then launched a constitutional court case in an attempt to remove Vella from her position as the inquiring magistrate. The request was promptly turned down.

When a Court of Appeals sentence confirmed the hospitals deal’s illegitimacy last October, Muscat called for “an unbiased analysis into any potential misconduct,” heavily implying the magisterial inquiry was a “politically motivated witch hunt”.

This time, Abela did not maintain his silence. The pressure had mounted.

Abela pitches in

In a heated parliamentary debate following the sentence, Abela said, “The opposition’s policy is throwing people before the courts. I won’t say it’s because they’re playing home. People can reach their conclusions”.

Abela’s comments align with those of Muscat, lending legitimacy to the former prime minister’s assertions of bias against him in the eyes of the public.

By the end of the year, the government launched a wide reform of the laws governing court action on criminal cases related to the proceeds of crime. The proposals, yet to be passed, were met with differing opinions, with implications they were being fast-tracked ahead of the conclusions of the magisterial inquiry.

In comments to Malta Today, Muscat publicly aligned himself with Abela and Justice Minister Jonathan Attard’s assertions on the reform being overdue. In the same breath, Muscat once again claimed he has “no faith” in the magisterial inquiry investigating him.

Following the launch of a court case by the opposition in response to government “inaction” on the hospitals deal, Abela again undermined the courts’ independence. In comments to the media on 15 January, he said the PN is “trying to run the government as the opposition in the minority”.

Criticisms of judicial processes reach their peak

In recent weeks, Abela has doubled down on his attacks on the judiciary, signalling the imminent arrival of a conclusion to the magisterial inquiry that may be disruptive to the Labour Party.

Amid rumours and furore surrounding Muscat’s ‘return’ to politics, Abela, while welcoming the disgraced former prime minister, cast doubts on the inquiry in an interview on RTK 103, once again undermining the judiciary’s work.

Within a day of its airing, Abela’s latest criticism of the judiciary surrounding the inquiry’s “exaggerated” delays came in an interview with The Times of Malta.

Abela’s latest comments have been widely panned, with the Chamber of Advocates, the Opposition, and NGOs denouncing his stance.

The conclusions of the magisterial inquiry investigating potential money laundering and corruption by Muscat are imminent.

They are expected to arrive among the commotion of Muscat’s potential return to politics, where he has so far been welcomed with open arms by the Labour Party despite the allegations surrounding him.