Clayton and Amanda are in trouble

Two years ago, The Shift revealed that Amanda Muscat, the then (secret) girlfriend of Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo,  was transferred – on paper – to the Gozo Ministry even though she was still working with Bartolo, whom she married last June in a lavish ceremony.

At the time, the Gozo Ministry had denied Muscat was on its records or employed with any other government agency, even when The Shift published a screenshot showing the government record of her employment in Gozo in February 2022.

The Tourism Ministry sustained those denials, telling The Shift, “Amanda Muscat is not employed at the Tourism Ministry or the Gozo Ministry, nor any other government entity, ministry or department.”

The denials were made despite evidence that their statements were a lie.

The information on government servers was removed when The Shift started asking questions, but this news portal had already secured the evidence.

Moreover, The Shift confirmed that despite being ‘transferred’, she was not working there.

She even had time to organise a spectacle of a party at the Tourism Ministry for Clayton Bartolo’s birthday, turning the minister’s office into a Manchester United Football Club-themed celebration complete with professional filming, TV personality Ron Briffa, and a Eurovision singer.

The prime minister took no action. Then, independent candidate and activist Arnold Cassola requested an investigation by Standards Commissioner Joseph Azzopardi.

On Wednesday, Cassola announced that the Standards Commissioner informed him that a report had been sent to the Parliament’s Committee for Standards in Public Life.

The report has not been published, so details are vague. However, once the Standards Commissioner passes on an investigation report to the parliamentary committee, this indicates the investigation found misconduct. Otherwise, the Commissioner would issue a statement that, according to his assessment, no evidence of wrongdoing was found.

The Opposition has asked for the report to be published. The PN said its committee members Ryan Callus and Mark Anthony Sammut asked the parliamentary committee to meet urgently to discuss the report’s findings since it concerns “favouritism and abuse of power” by Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri and Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo.