Vince Muscat, known as il-Kohhu, on Monday was confronted with testimony he had given in the past which, according to the defence, contradicts what he told the court in a trial by jury in the past days.

Muscat is testifying in the trial of four men accused of the murders of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia and lawyer Carmel Chircop.

The accused are brothers Robert and Adrian Agius, known as the 'Ta' Maksar' brothers, along with Jamie Vella and George Degiorgio.

Adrian Agius is charged with commissioning the murder of Carmel Chircop in October 2015. Jamie Vella and George Degiorgio are accused of executing the murder in a Birkirkara garage complex. Vella and Robert Agius are accused of complicity in the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia by supplying the bomb that killed her.

In separate proceedings, Degiorgio pleaded guilty to his role in the Caruana Galizia murder.

The four men were charged in February 2021 after Vince Muscat admitted guilt in the Caruana Galizia murder and was sentenced to 15 years in prison after a plea bargain.

Muscat was subsequently granted a presidential pardon to tell all on the Chircop murder.

Muscat was first confronted with a transcript of his 2020 interrogation where he explained what weapons were in the car, where the AK-47 was never mentioned. Another transcript of previous testimony suggests that there were only two guns.

Muscat maintains that the AK-47 was brought by Jamie Vella, saying that he remembers it clearly. When asked whether he ever fired a weapon, Muscat replied that he is only here to testify about the Chircop murder. 

The witness was further pressed on the cars used in the Chircop murder. When asked why previous testimony he had given contradicts the most recent testimony, he said that he cannot remember. 

The defence asked how the passengers in the car on the way to the murder were seated, as Muscat placed himself in the back seat. The witness was confronted with a previous statement where he had stated that he rode in the front passenger seat, and was then told to go to the back. Asked to explain the discrepancy, Muscat said he doesn't remember. 

Muscat told the court that after the murder, Jamie Vella was meant to "take care of the weapons" and scrap the car. But the defence showed that in his interrogation, Muscat could not recall who had disposed of the car. 

Asked about the weapons, Muscat said that Jamie Vella was the one who used to acquire weapons, explaining that the accused was an enthusiast. But when asked how he is certain that the murder weapon was brought by Vella, Muscat states that, "He was the one that brought weapons."

But previous testimony read out by the defence sheds doubt on this. "Jamie Vella takes care of the weapons," Muscat insisted.

The defence brought to the court's attention that Muscat has stated "I don't remember" more than 80 times during his testimony, asking the court to remind him that he is under oath. 

The judge told defence lawyer Ishmael Psaila that he is in no place to tell the court what to do, and that it is impossible for her to tell Muscat that he is under oath every time he says that he doesn't remember. 

Muscat said he does not know where the Agius brothers were on the day of Carmel Chircop's murder. On his €20,000 payment, Muscat said that he is absolutely certain that that was the commission he was paid for the murder.

The defence noted that Muscat had told investigators that he wasn't sure about the sum, quoting €20,000 and €30,000 during his interrogation. The witness explains that he was paid €5,000 before the murder and €15,000 after, while another €5,000 was handed to him at a later date.

The witness was confronted with a previous statement he made to a magistrate which contradicted this. The defence read out Muscat's transcript from a previous court sitting where the breakdown of the €20,000 is different.

Muscat said that the police never questioned him about the original (abandoned) plan to kill Caruana Galizia.

The witness explained that Jamie Vella told the assassins that he knew where she lived.

Asked by the defence about differences between the witness's previous statement about the original plan to kill Caruana Galizia, Muscat said he did not remember.

Muscat also could not recall whether he ever stalked Caruana Galizia by himself, saying that Alfred Degiorgio would surely do this because he lived in St Paul's Bay.

Muscat said it was Melvin Theuma who approached first with the plan to kill Caruana Galizia.

He explained that Theuma spoke with Alfred Degiorgio at the Marsa potato shed, however, Muscat wasn't there at first. According to Muscat, Darren Debono known as "It-Topo" informed the hitmen that Melvin Theuma had a big job for them.

Muscat said that he and Alfred Degiorgio went to speak with Theuma before the 2017 election. He explained that he wasn't present during meetings between Theuma and Alfred when they discussed the murder and its commission. 

Muscat testified that as time passed, Theuma would press Alfred Degiorgio almost every day to get the job done. According to Muscat, Theuma said that a story would soon be published, and if it was published, the murder would fall through. 

Pressed by the defence, the witness says that he could not remember if Theuma ever spoke to him about the murder directly. He repeated "I don't remember" multiple times when confronted on previous statements he made which seem to show that he had spoken to Theuma.

The witness said that the hitmen collected the deposit for the murder after the 2017 election. However, he said he doesn't remember when rifles that were meant to be used for the Caruana Galizia murder were acquired. "I cannot remember everything," he told the court.

The defence noted that when he testified in the case against the Degiorgio brothers, Muscat had said that when Theuma started pressing the hitmen, they were already in possession of the rifles. The witness said that he first saw the rifles in the Naxxar garage, and that the hitmen found them there. 

Resuming the cross examination after the lunch break, the defence focused on the bomb that killed Caruana Galizia and the other bombs that arrived in Malta alongside it. Vince Muscat was referred to a transcript of his testimony in separate proceedings about the bomb, but he said he doesn't remember saying that. 

The transcript shows Muscat testifying that the bombs were brought to Malta a month after Romeo Bone was critically injured by a car bomb. In that testimony, Muscat had said that one of the bombs was for Bone. In court, Muscat noted that it couldn't have been for Bone. 

The defence noted that Muscat earlier told the court that the first time he saw the bomb was in the Naxxar garage. But the defence reminded the witness that he had also testified that the bomb was taken to Naxxar by Muscat and Alfred Degiorgio after they collected it from under an upside down boat near the potato shed.

Another statement given by Muscat to Keith Arnaud states that he first saw the bomb in a farmhouse belonging to Jamie Vella.

Muscat said he did not remember what car was used to move the bomb either.

Muscat said he did not know why the bomb was kept hidden under the belly of an upside-down boat.

Asked whether he was certain that the bomb came with a mobile phone, Muscat answered that next to the bomb, there was a mobile phone.

Vince Muscat was asked about the rental car used in the Caruana Galizia murder. The defence reminds him that prior to renting a small white car, the hitmen used a "long" Peugeot vehicle. He cannot remember how long they used the first vehicle for, but said it was for a few days.

Regarding the rental car, he said he took Alfred Degiorgio to pick up the rental car in Buġibba.

Regarding the day prior to the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia, he said he received a call about her. He said he went to get the garage key from the potato shed, and took the bomb from the Sta Venera garage, to Bidnija and then to a Naxxar garage.

Asked, he said he was certain he pocketed €50,000 for the murder. But according to his interrogation transcript with the police in 2020, Muscat had told the police that he only pocketed €10,000. "I took €50,000 your honour," he repeats.

Asked by the defence if the hitmen ever asked information from Chris Cardona after the murder, he said that Cardona was only ever mentioned by Alfred Degiorgio.

Asked by the defence why he refused to give his DNA to the police upon his arrest, Muscat said: "I had a right not to give it." 

Asked about the mobile phone that the Degiorgio brothers had in prison, Muscat testified that, as far as ke knew, Alfred had used it to contact Melvin Theuma.

He was also asked whether he remembers the year when he first spoke to the police about the Carmel Chircop murder, however Muscat could not recall, saying he could not remember if it was 2018 or 2020.

He was asked about his obligations as per the pardon he had received for the murder of chircop.  "Did you speak the same truth?" the defence asked him. "I said the whole truth. If it wasn't for me, the (Carmel Chircop) case wouldn't be solved."

"If you weren't there in the first place we wouldn't be here because of two murders because they would've been alive," the defence said.

The defence then proceeded to read out a transcript from Muscat's interrogation, where he apparently asked inspector Keith Arnaud to suggest to him what else he can add to the testimony. 

"The inspector wanted information from me not the other way around," Muscat says. "Exactly," the defence responds, "these transcripts are your words, they didn't fall out of the sky."

The defence asked Muscat whether he excludes that his lawyer had attempted to pass him a paper in prison, to which Muscat said that the guards always check anything he is brought to prison, including photos of his family. It is understood that Muscat's lawyer is his daughter.

Muscat was asked why he had not mentioned the Maksar brothers' Villa prior to testifying in 2021, and was also confronted regarding a previous statement he had made that he did not know how much the brothers owed Chircop.  "I don't think I made it up now," Muscat says. 

The defence questions how Muscat seems to remember more details the more time passes. Muscat said that he always knew the details of the case, but said it was possible that he did not remember certain things at different times.