Brothers George and Alfred Degiorgio have written to President George Vella requesting a pardon in return for naming a former minister who was a "mastermind" in the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia.
The letters, signed by lawyer William Cuschieri, were leaked to Reuters journalist Stephen Grey, who shared them on Twitter.
The lawyer said his clients would also name a middleman "against whom no steps have been taken so far."
In the letters, the President was told that the Degiorgios are willing to cooperate and provide "direct and credible information that is not hearsay."
With regard to the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder, they are willing to name a former minister and a middleman who have not yet been given a presidential pardon, Cuschieri said. This rules out middleman Melvin Theuma, who has already been pardoned to reveal all about the murder.
Alfred Degiorgio's request
Alfred Degiorgio said he is also willing to name a former minister and also a sitting minister who were “masterminds” behind an attempted robbery and an attempted homicide, as well as other persons involved in the case.
George Degiorgio said he can provide information about two unsolved bombing cases.
Both brothers said they can also name the people behind an unspecified unsolved homicide.
They are emphasising that the information they can provide is not hearsay.
Cuschieri asked the President to consider the pardon request with caution, noting that one of the people who could be named is a sitting member of Cabinet and cannot be part of any discussion on the matter.
The Degiorgios are currently being held in preventive custody. They are pleading not guilty to the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia in October 2017. The courts have heard how the Degiorgios committed the crime together with Vince Muscat il-Kohhu, who has admitted his role in the murder and has been jailed 15 years. Muscat has been pardoned over the murder of lawyer Carmel Chircop in 2015, in return for providing all information he has about the case to investigators. He is currently testifying against the Degiorgios.
George Degiorgio's request
Last week, Vince Muscat claimed that former economy minister Chris Cardona was involved in a prior plot to kill Daphne Caruana Galizia back in 2015 which did not take place. Cardona has denied the allegations. He has also claimed that a "sitting minister" was involved in a "big job" but has so far refused to name the Cabinet member.