Defence lawyer Leslie Cuschieri told jurors Monday that the testimony given by Vince Muscat il-Kohhu has been poorly corroborated by the police

Cuschieri, who is defending George Degiorgio, told jurors that Muscat's testimony allowed investigators to come out as heroes on the case, despite Muscat's poor reputation.

"Investigators found refuge in a man who is ready to do everything to save his skin. If he must spend a year in prison, he will do anything to not serve that sentence or settle for six months instead of a year," he said. 

"If the investigators did their job, there wouldn't be any need to rely on him. They needed him, almost idolising him," he said. 

Four men are in the dock accused of the murders of Daphne Caruana Galizia in 2017 and Carmel Chircop in 2015. The trial is being presided over by Judge Edwina Grima. 

The accused are brothers Robert and Adrian Agius, known as Tal-Maksar, and their associates Jamie Vella and George Degiorgio.

Vella and Robert Agius are accused of complicity in the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia by supplying the bomb that killed her in October 2017.

Adrian Agius is charged with commissioning the murder of lawyer Carmel Chircop in 2015, while Vella and Degiorgio are accused of  executing Chircop's murder.

All four deny the charges against them.

Cuschieri told jurors about what he believes is the best lie to have come out of this trial. 

During cross-examination, the defence lawyer Amadeus Cachia asked Muscat to confirm that Robert Abela, who is now the prime minister, was hired as his lawyer in the past. To this, Muscat replied that he does not remember.

"How many lawyers have become prime ministers in recent years? Wouldn't you be proud if your lawyer become a magistrate, a minister, a prime minister?"

Cuschieri said Muscat only mentioned an AK47 in connection to the Chircop murder after testifying in the magisterial inquiry in 2021. The magistrate had specifically asked about the weapons, finding it hard to believe that the three men (Vince Muscat, George Degiorgio and Jamie Vella) only had two guns on them at the time of the murder.

Cuschieri went through Muscat's testimony and listed moments of "poor corroboration". 

Another piece of information that police said corroborates Muscat's testimony is that Chircop's wife told police that Chircop used to spend a lot of time at a cafeteria in Naxxar, and that the two of them dined at a Birgu restaurant before the murder, he said. Muscat mentioned both these things in his testimony.

Cuschieri says many knew that Chircop enjoyed going to this particular cafeteria in Naxxar, which was very popular. Meanwhile, Muscat's testimony on the Birgu waterfront is hazy too, he said.

Cuschieri said that the restaurant never had tables on the ground floor by the seafront, which is what Muscat had said in court.

Cuschieri is referred to a statement from the prosecuting team, that forensic reports indicated that the shots were fired at Carmel Chircop by a person sat in a car. 

Cuschieri says evidence suggests that Chircop was not shot at by someone standing up, rather than by a person from inside a car but rather. "If we are to conclude that Chircop was not shot at from a person inside a car, the next logical conclusion is that a substantial, crucial part of Muscat's testimony is false."

Cuschieri tells jurors that their decision must be serene and pure. "Your decision should be backed in some way or another by scientific fact. You cannot base your decision on a person that, to save his own skin, is ready to ruin his friends' lives."

Lawyer Ishmael Psaila, defending Jamie Vella, who is accused of murdering Carmel Chircop and supplying the bomb that killed Daphne Caruana Galizia, also spoke.

He said that he was surprised that the prosecutor on the case had spent much time trying to convince jurors to believe Vince Muscat.

Psaila noted that the inquiry into the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia is still open.

He said that Assistant Commissioner Keith Arnaud, the chief investigator, had judged Vella for laughing during interrogation. "He wasn't laughing because murder is funny but because the case did not make sense to him," he says

He said that the prosecution is making these arguments despite bringing in the FBI and foreign experts on the case.  "Is this how justice should be served? Don't you think that certain questions deserve an answer at this stage of the proceedings?"

Psaila mentions the deal with Vince Muscat. "This isn't just a photo or document or CD. This document is signed by the president on behalf of the Republic of Malta upon recommendation of the cabinet after taking advice from the attorney general and police," he says.

Psaila brought up the 'checklist for jurors' that the prosecution referred to in its statements. "This checklist should have been used by the police in February 2021 before arresting these four men and before giving Vince Muscat a presidential pardon," he says.

Psaila compared the investigations into the two homicides. He said that despite several bomb attacks in the years before Daphne Caruana Galizia's murder, no foreign experts were brought in to investigate them. 

He's referred to a report written by Brigadier Jeffrey Curmi about the bomb attacks, where Curmi identified a pattern among the attacks, suggesting there could be a common denominator between them.

The specific attacks mentioned were the three attacks that killed Daphne Caruana Galizia, injured Romeo Bone and targeted Kevin Ellul. 

Psaila said that Bone and Ellul refused to speak to police about the attacks.

Turning to Vince Muscat's testimony, Psaila said Muscat responded with "I don't know" about 200 times during cross-examination. "Does this answer give you peace of mind on those questions?" he asked.

He said that Muscat had told the court that he never held a weapon, but 12 hours later said he chooses not to comment. "Is this the truth?"

Psaila spoke about Melvin Theuma, saying that Theuma testified for around three days straight, and that despite this he answered every question, and that his testimony is backed by recordings.

He said that what the prosecution forgot to mention is that Theuma said he doesn't know Jamie Vellla and never even met him.