Portuguese PM António Costa in crisis after cops raid residence

NOVEMBER 7, 2023

Portuguese police raided Prime Minister António Costa's official residence and detained his chief of staff, Vítor Escária, as part of a corruption investigation, Portugal's attorney general said Tuesday.

According to a statement issued by the Portuguese Prosecutor's Office, the prime minister is being investigated as part of the probe.

The probe is linked to lithium exploration schemes in the north of the country and a green hydrogen mega-project in Sines.

Police searches of the prime minister's residence and the Ministries of Environment and Infrastructure are ongoing. In addition to Escária, Costa's personal adviser Diogo Lacerda — one of the prime minister's closest confidants — and Nuno Mascarenhas, the socialist mayor of Sines, have also been detained.

Costa's Socialist government has enthusiastically backed numerous schemes to extract lithium in different areas of Portugal as part of the EU's wider drive to secure critical raw materials, but those projects have been mired in controversy because of the low quality of the elements set to be extracted and the disproportionate environmental damage expected from the operations.

A 2021 POLITICO investigation into one mining scheme in the northern Montealegre region highlighted these controversies and ultimately led the Portuguese government to cancel one major project in the area.

The prime minister's executive has also bet big on a green hydrogen production hub in the port of Sines, a project which is being funded with billions of euros of EU innovation cash.

Portuguese news wire Lusa reported that Costa met with Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa shortly after the raids began. That meeting has already concluded, but no information on what was discussed has been provided to the press.

Shortly after Costa left the presidential palace, state broadcaster RTP reported that Rebelo de Sousa had summoned Lucília Gago, Portugal's attorney general.

Costa has been prime minister of Portugal since 2015, when he led a minority government backed by a coalition of left-wing forces and subsequently oversaw a tourism boom that fueled the country's economic recovery after years of financial turmoil.

The prime minister was reelected in 2019 and most recently in snap elections held in 2022, when his Socialist Party unexpectedly secured an absolute majority of seats in the Portuguese parliament. Despite the scale of his victory, Costa's latest government has been affected by a steady stream of scandals, and in less than two years more than a dozen members of his executive have resigned for a variety of reasons.

Although Portugal's president has openly criticized Costa's scandal-ridden government, he has refused to dissolve parliament and call new elections, arguing the move would be disruptive at a moment when the country is attempting to distribute the EU's recovery funds.

Immediately after the police raids Tuesday, center-right opposition group Liberal Initiative called for Costa to resign, and for the dissolution of parliament if the prime minister

https://www.politico.eu/article/portuguese-police-raid-prime-minister-antonio-costas-residence/

>>19892896

Portuguese PM António Costa resigns amid corruption probe

NOVEMBER 7, 2023

Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa submitted his resignation Tuesday after police raided his official residence and the country’s attorney general confirmed he was being investigated under a corruption probe.

During a televised news conference, Costa said he was “surprised” to learn that “a criminal case has already been or will be initiated against me,” and insisted he’d had nothing to do with any “illicit or reprehensible act.”

Costa said the gravity of the charges driving his investigation are “incompatible with the dignity of the office of prime minister,” making it impossible for him to continue in the post.

Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa will now have to decide whether to dissolve parliament and call new elections, or choose a new prime minister from Costa’s Socialist Party.

The office of the presidency confirmed that party leaders will be summoned to meet Wednesday, with the Council of State, an advisory body to the president, expected to meet Thursday.

Costa said he was willing to remain in office until a successor was named, but clarified he would not put his name forward as a candidate for higher office. His resignation marked “the end of a chapter” in his life, he said.

Lithium exploration schemes

The prime minister’s resignation came hours after Portugal’s national police carried out searches of Costa’s residence and several government ministry buildings. The sweeps are part of a corruption probe linked to lithium exploration schemes in the north of the country as well as a green hydrogen mega-project in Sines.

Costa’s chief of staff, Vítor Escária, was also detained, the attorney general said earlier on Tuesday. Authorities also confirmed that Minister of Infrastructure João Galamba and Portuguese Environment Agency head Nuno Lacasta had been indicted.

Costa’s socialist government has enthusiastically backed schemes to extract lithium in different areas of Portugal as part of the EU’s wider drive to secure critical raw materials, but those projects have been mired in controversy due to the low quality of the material to be extracted and the disproportionate environmental damage expected.

A 2021 POLITICO investigation into one mining scheme in the northern Montealegre region highlighted these controversies and ultimately led the Portuguese government to cancel a major project in the area.

The prime minister’s executive had also bet big on a green hydrogen production hub in the Port of Sines, a project that is being funded with millions of euros in EU innovation cash.

End of an era

Socialist Party leader Costa became prime minister of Portugal in 2015, forming a minority government backed by an unlikely coalition of far-left parties.

His government oversaw a tourism boom that turned the country into an international hotspot and led observers to salute a “Portuguese economic miracle” that had transformed the country after years of austerity imposed following the European debt crisis.

The impact of COVID on tourism, however, dampened enthusiasm for Costa and invited censure of his government’s promotion of cheap service-sector jobs and tax breaks for digital nomads. Left-wing parties also broke with the PM due to meager public investment in education and health care, as well as for his government’s inaction during a nationwide housing crisis worsened by an influx of expat residents.

However, despite widespread discontent among public sector workers, Costa’s Socialist Party managed to gain an absolute majority of seats in the country’s parliament in 2022 legislative elections thanks to a campaign in which Costa cast himself as the only viable alternative to a center-right government supported by the far-right Chega party.

https://www.politico.eu/article/portugal-prime-minister-antonio-costa-resigns/

Hawai’i Government Officials Contradict Own Citizens’ Accounts on Maui Fire Disaster

Nov 7, 2023

In the aftermath of the devastating August fire that claimed over 100 lives in Lahaina, Maui, an independent journalist partnered with Project Veritas to investigate the claims of Lahaina residents who shared their water and electricity was not functioning on the morning of the deadly fire.

This journalist held meetings with multiple representatives from the Maui mayor’s office and the governor's office, all of whom clung to the official narrative that the water supply had not been interrupted.

As the historic town of Lahaina continues to grapple with the devastating aftermath of these fires, community members continue to raise questions about the government’s emergency response.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxPAiUjjBfc

#022 Dinesh D"Souza | The Roseanne Barr Podcast

Nov 9, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvqiJsdXHmc

>>19893050

>>19893079

They're still going, just minus James

https://www.projectveritas.com/news/maui-fire