He faces imprisonment: Michael Lauber. Picture: EPA / KEYSTONE
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SVP politicians also have enough: “Court commission should leave Lauber immediately”
Parliament’s judicial commission is under increasing pressure? Politicians demand quick action in the Lauber case.
On Wednesday, the federal parliament’s judicial commission heard controversial federal attorney Michael Lauber. This hearing is a prerequisite for the Commission to be able to formally initiate impeachment proceedings against Michael Lauber.
The Commission is expected to decide to open the procedure. At the same time, however, it currently does not look as if the procedure will have an immediate impact on Lauber and the federal prosecutor. The judicial commission, according to the informally available roadmap, would only decide on their impeachment in advance of the autumn session, which will take place in September. The impeachment could then be decided in the autumn session, for which there is currently a clear majority in the Federal Assembly.
Pressure on court commission increases
But now the pressure from the parliament on the judicial commission is increasing. The Solothurn SVP National Councilor Christian Imark points out that the judicial commission requested last September not to re-elect Lauber. That was the right decision, but she could not prevail in parliament: “Parliament made a fatal mistake.”
Christian Imark thinks Michael Lauber is no longer sustainable. Image: KEYSTONE
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Even then, Imark no longer supported Lauber like some other SVP representatives. Imark: “Now the judicial commission is on the sidelines and cannot intervene, it has handed over the booklet and is only watching.”
Imark: “Waiting until September is not possible”
That is why decisive action is needed now. “The commission has to take the reins again and immediately leave Lauber on vacation,” says Imark. The Commission could not “wait until September and leave the decision to remove Lauber to the courts”. «The primacy of politics has to be enforced. The longer you wait, the greater the damage, the more the reputation of the federal prosecutor suffers, but also the reputation of the judicial commission ».
The addressee of such instructions is the SVP Group leader Thomas Aeschi, who sits on the judicial commission. Last year, the SVP faction under his leadership made a huge contribution to Lauber. Aeschi is now covered.
Thomas Aeschi previously held to Lauber: is he changing his mind now? Image: KEYSTONE
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More and more SVP representatives are leaving
Like Imark, St. Gallen SVP National Councilor Mike Egger wants to see quick action. He hadn’t voted for Lauber last time, he recently told CH Media. A person who “can no longer remember important meetings” and who, according to his supervisory authority, has committed a number of violations, such as breaches of duty, is unsuitable for this office. The complaint that Lauber had made against his wage cut caused further unrest in the federal prosecutor’s office and “weakened the public’s confidence in this important institution,” says Egger.
SP, Mitte faction and Greens have been putting pressure on Lauber’s quick finish for weeks. Even in the FDP, which, like the official SVP, has so far been particularly fond of Lauber, the Federal Attorney has fewer and fewer supporters. Group leader Beat Walti recently went away.
But what does the judicial commission do?
Experts advocate immediate suspension
Experts also say that the judicial commission must now “leave Lauber” at least, if allegedly no immediate impeachment is already possible. Criminal law expert Markus Mohler says in the interview: “It seems to me urgently that the federal prosecutor is now suspended in office in order to slowly rebuild the credibility of the authority to the outside and to the inside with this first step.”
Anti-corruption and criminal lawyer Markus Pieth said to CH Media, how to proceed now: “In my view, a transitional solution is needed: the Federal Assembly should choose an interim federal prosecutor. The best thing is a heavyweight from a canton, a recently retired, experienced, respected attorney general. »
Court commission would have to engage supervision
The way to Lauber’s immediate leave of absence: According to experts, the judicial commission at its meeting on Wednesday can adopt the recommendation to the supervisory authority via the Federal Prosecutor’s Office (AB-BA) that Lauber should be released until the impeachment proceedings have been completed. As a precautionary measure. The AB-BA is the employer of Laubers and therefore responsible for any leave of absence. The AB-BA can then immediately give Lauber the recommendation to give up his post. If Lauber does not implement this recommendation, the supervisory authority can issue binding instructions.
In 1989 the Federal Attorney was on leave
The leave of absence of a federal attorney would not be a novelty in Swiss history. In the course of the Fichenskandal and the Kopp affair, the then Federal Attorney Rudolf Gerber was given leave of absence by the Federal Council in March 1989 with immediate effect, and was retired early in September.
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