Former head of government communications Gordon Pisani today denied leaking questions sent to him by a journalist for Labour Party KullĦadd to The Malta Independent columnist Daphne Caruana Galizia in 2011, pointing out that tens of people had access to the email in question.
Mr Pisani, who had been the Nationalist Party’s information secretary before working at the Office of the Prime Minister between 2008 and 2013, was testifying in a libel case filed by former permanent representative to the EU Richard Cachia Caruana against MediaToday managing editor Saviour Balzan.
After asking Mr Pisani questions on his ties to Mr Cachia Caruana, Mr Balzan’s lawyer Toni Abela – the Labour Party’s deputy leader – changed the focus to Ms Caruana Galizia.
In February 2011, KullĦadd journalist Ritianne Agius had sent an email to Mr Pisani and various other ministry communications coordinators, as well as to PN MPs, in which she asked them whether they agreed with what Ms Caruana Galizia had written on various topics, and whether they would disassociate themselves from these statements.
On behalf of the government, Mr Pisani had replied that the Nationalist Party – and not the Labour Party – was in government and that as a result, the government would not interfere with what the media would write. He said that the government respected the freedom of the press, and would only enter into what was written by government officials on its behalf.
But the questions were published on Ms Caruana Galizia’s website before this reply was made, prompting accusations that Mr Pisani was somehow responsible for this leak.
In court, however, Mr Pisani – who insisted that he dealt with Ms Caruana Galizia as he would with any other journalist – pointed out that the same email was sent to other ministries, and that as a result, tens of people had access to it. He could not therefore state how Ms Caruana Galizia obtained the questions, pointing out that his role was simply to formulate a common response to them on behalf of the government.
He acknowledged that the email sent by Ms Agius was not meant for public disclosure, though he pointed out that his obligation was simply to ensure that her questions were answered.
In response to other questions by Dr Abela, Mr Pisani said that he had met Ms Caruana Galizia at her home once, during the 2008 campaign, after a controversy erupted over plans to build a discotheque on rural land in Mistra owned by then-PN MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando.
He noted that while Dr Pullicino Orlando wanted to respond to allegations being made by the Labour Party at the time through a newspaper article, he did not feel that he was in a position to write it on his own. Consequently, Mr Pisani and the MP went to Ms Caruana Galizia, who wrote the article on Dr Pullicino Orlando’s behalf based on the information he provided to her.
Mr Pisani stressed that Dr Pullicino Orlando voluntarily went to Ms Caruana Galizia, but could not recall who had suggested using her services in the first place. He said that to his knowledge, the columnist was not paid for her work.
He also said that Mr Cachia Caruana may have been aware of the arrangement as he was part of the PN’s strategy group for the 2008 electoral campaign, but could not confirm whether this was the case.