Former OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri told jurors on Wednesday that Yorgen Fenech had indirectly revealed his involvement in the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia before his arrest, leaving him "frozen", while insisting that his biggest mistake was not immediately informing then Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and resigning.

Continuing his testimony in the trial by jury of Yorgen Fenech, Schembri also described the frantic hours before Fenech's arrest in November 2019, saying he repeatedly urged the businessman not to flee Malta, denied ever passing confidential information about the murder investigation to him, and maintained that he played no role in Melvin Theuma's presidential pardon. 

Yorgen Fenech, a businessman, has pleaded not guilty to two principal charges: complicity in the wilful homicide of Daphne Caruana Galizia and criminal association to commit the murder. 

Caruana Galizia, a columnist with The Malta Independent, was killed in a car bomb on 16 October, 2017.

Five men have already been convicted in connection with Caruana Galizia's assassination. Vince Muscat admitted his role in the murder in 2021 and was sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment. Alfred and George Degiorgio each received 40-year prison sentences after pleading guilty in 2022, while Robert Agius and Jamie Vella were sentenced to life imprisonment in 2025 for supplying the bomb used in the attack.

The prosecution is being led by Attorney General lawyers Godwin Cini, Anthony Vella and Danika Vella, assisted by Assistant Commissioner Keith Arnaud and Inspector Kurt Zahra. Fenech is represented by lawyers Charles Mercieca, Gianella Demarco and Gianluca Caruana Curran, while lawyers Therese Comodini Cachia and Jason Azzopardi are appearing parte civile on behalf of the Caruana Galizia family.

Judge Edwina Grima is presiding.

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17:00 Madam Justice Edwina Grima adjourns proceedings for the day.

Schembri will remain under court supervision overnight and will return to the witness stand tomorrow, when he is due to face cross-examination by Fenech's defence lawyers.

The jurors then leave the courtroom. Thank you for following our live blog, we will return with more live coverage tomorrow. A roundup will be available on our website shortly.

16:55 The prosecution resumes by rephrasing an earlier question.

Cini: In a recording played in court today, Yorgen Fenech said you "froze" when he told you. He also said you would walk through fire for him and that the two of you cried together when you realised he was involved. What was your reaction when Fenech later implicated you?

Schembri: I was shocked. I was with the prime minister and I said, "What's he making up about me?" I went to Joseph's house and told him I was going to resign. He accepted my resignation, and I went home.

That is all from the prosecution.

16:49 The legal issue centres on Keith Schembri's reply that Fenech "didn't implicate me immediately", which appeared to allude to a matter the jury has been expressly instructed not to hear about.

The court upholds the defence's objection and rules that jurors will be instructed to disregard the final question and answer.

The jurors are then brought back into the courtroom.

16:42 Cini: In the recording, Yorgen Fenech said you "froze" and that you would walk through fire for him. He also said the two of you cried together when you learnt he was involved in the murder. So why is Yorgen Fenech linking you to the homicide?

Schembri: He didn't implicate me from the start. I'll leave it at that.

Cini: What do you mean?

Schembri: Initially, he didn't implicate me.

Madam Justice Edwina Grima asks Schembri to explain what he means.

The prosecution then requests to raise a point of law. The jurors and Schembri are escorted out of the courtroom while the matter is discussed.

16:40 Cini: Yorgen Fenech repeatedly mentioned you to Melvin Theuma. Why would he do that if you were not involved?

Schembri: Ask him.

Cini: When Yorgen Fenech implied that he was involved in the murder, you said you "froze". Was that because you were shocked, or because your fears had come true?

Schembri: Both. First, I had an obligation to keep the government going. Second, he was my friend. Third, as I have said many times, I never believed - and I am not saying that I now believe - that this person acted alone. I keep saying that, but I have no evidence.

I was upset because he was my friend. My children were close to his children, and my ex-wife was close to his wife. It came as a total, total shock.

16:35 Cini reads out passages from Yorgen Fenech's police statement.

Schembri immediately turns to Judge Edwina Grima.

"Didn't you tell us yesterday that these statements couldn't be mentioned?" he asks.

"No," the judge replies.

Cini then reads out a series of claims allegedly made by Fenech, beginning with an assertion that the plan to murder Daphne Caruana Galizia originated from Schembri.

"No, no, no. Definitely not," Schembri replies.

The prosecutor goes on to suggest that Fenech had told police Schembri instructed him to "find a way" to have Caruana Galizia killed.

Schembri pauses before answering.

"Definitely not."

Cini then asks whether Schembri had ever told Fenech: "Mexxi, mexxi, mexxi" ("Go ahead, go ahead, go ahead").

"No."

The prosecutor also asks whether Schembri, Fenech, and then-prime minister Joseph Muscat had once met.

Schembri agrees he met Fenech and Muscat, but says it did not happen at Castille.

Asked whether Muscat had expressed concern during that meeting about whether Theuma could be trusted, Schembri replies:

"I never heard that. Never."

When Cini suggests Fenech had told police he no longer trusted Theuma because he was recording him, Schembri says: "I definitely wasn't at that meeting."

16:29 Prosecutor Godwin Cini reminds the court that George Degiorgio testified Schembri had sent Melvin Theuma to the potato shed to arrange for Daphne Caruana Galizia to be killed.

"An outrageous lie!" Schembri replies.

"I have never met George Degiorgio. I don't even know who he is. No way (Ma' tarax)."

16:19 Cini returns to the file of printed Daphne Caruana Galizia articles that Schembri says he kept for years.

Schembri says the file contained every article she had written about him.

"I wanted to know what she was saying about me. It's very, very normal," he tells the jury.

"I was one of the few-one of the only-members of the Labour government to sue her for libel," he says, gesturing with his hands.

He says he would be upset when she wrote about then-prime minister Joseph Muscat, his wife Michelle, and their children.

"She did the same thing when Lou Bondì went after Toni Abela over the blokka bajda affair," Schembri adds.

Asked how the articles affected him personally, Schembri replies: "The hardest part was when she wrote about my mother, my father and my ex-wife."

"I keep a record of everyone who writes about me. It's very, very normal."

Schembri says he would often discuss the articles with his family and with then-prime minister Joseph Muscat because they concerned his work.

Schembri says he saw no reason to get rid of the file while Caruana Galizia was still writing about him.

Schembri then adds that, even today, he tells the people who work for him that he prays for Daphne Caruana Galizia.

Asked what eventually became of the file, Schembri replies:

"I think I shredded it."

16:10 The prosecution challenges Schembri over his account of the searches carried out at his home.

Cini refers to Schembri's earlier testimony that a female officer searched through his clothes, checking the pockets of his suits and jeans and "turning everything upside down".

Cini replies that investigators had testified they did not simply seize everything, but only the devices Schembri pointed out to them. He also says that it doesn't appear that much had been upended.

"Let's have a confrontation," Schembri responds. "Call them here and we'll talk."

The prosecutor repeats that investigators had testified they collected the devices Schembri indicated.

"Call them here," Schembri insists. "If you want, call Kurt Zahra. Call Keith Arnaud as well."

16:05 The prosecution turns to photographs taken during the searches of Schembri's home, showing electronic devices that were not seized.

Schembri says the devices most likely belonged to members of his family.

"After they arrested me, strip-searched me and put me through the mill [ġennewni]. My relatives arrived at the house, as they should have. My parents, Gafà, and the nanny were there," he says.

"Those devices belonged to them. One hundred per cent. Not 99 per cent."

15:57 "How did Mr Gafà happen to be there?" Cini asks, referring to his presence during the search of Schembri's home.

"He's a family friend. He also worked with me at Castille," Schembri replies.

Schembri says he got to know Gafà through work around five or six years earlier.

Asked how close they were, he replies: "We used to walk from Mellieħa to Selmun every day - me, him, and Kenneth Azzopardi."

Cini then refers to evidence from Kenneth Camilleri, who testified that he had tried to pass a message to Schembri through Gafà when Schembri was giving him the cold shoulder.

"Did Neville Gafà speak to you?" the prosecutor asks.

"I don't remember," Schembri replies.

Cini asks whether Schembri had been in contact with Gafà before his arrest.

"I didn't know I was going to be arrested," Schembri says.

Asked whether the two still speak today, Schembri says: "More or less."

"What happened between you?"

"I don't know. We still say good morning and so on, but he's always abroad, and some of his actions don't sit well with me."

"He started attacking people within the Labour Party. That bothered me."

15:55 Prosecutors cited a document listing attendees during a police search, including various officers, Schembri, his lawyers Edward Gatt and Mark Vassallo, his wife, his parents, his older daughter, and Neville Gafà. When Cini asked what all those people were doing there, Schembri deflected by asking if the police couldn't find his phone, prompting the judge to warn him to answer the question. Looking over police photos of the search which he claimed to have never seen before, Schembri stated he could not remember who went through his things or which police officers were present for the second search following the initial one by Arnaud and Zahra, though he recalled a woman might have been there.

15:52 Schembri claimed he did not realize his phone was missing until police started putting things in sealed bags at the depot and noticed it wasn't there. When Cini questioned how he could fail to realise he didn't have his phone from the moment of his arrest until arriving at the depot, Schembri maintained he did not know, adding that workers might have found it, and noted he was in bed at 5:03am.

15:46 Questioned about his infamous missing phone, Schembri stated he has been trying to figure out what happened to it for nine years and acknowledged that people laugh or smile when he speaks about it, admitting he does not know where it went. When prosecutor Cini pointed out that a report showed the phone was last used at 5:03am in Mellieha where Schembri lives, Schembri replied that he was stating facts and noted that workers arrived at 5:30am to move things outside.

15:40 Keith Schembri recounted his arrest, stating he did not know it was coming and explaining that Dr Adrian Vella called him at 5am to say police were knocking on his door and asking what to do, to which Schembri told him to open it. Schembri noted that around 6:10am, workers arrived at his house for ongoing home renovations, which was filmed by Newsbook, and at 6:30am, investigators Keith Arnaud and Kurt Zahra arrived, searched the house, seized everything they saw, and took him to police headquarters where they removed his shoes, belt, and trousers.

15:38 Keith Schembri was shown the letter implicating former minister Chris Cardona in the murder - which Adrian Vella previously claimed he was given by Schembri to hand to Yorgen Fenech while Fenech was hospitalised under police bail. Schembri testified that he only discovered this document after his arrest when police showed it to him, adding that none of his fingerprints were found on it. He was then shown a second document, which Fenech had told investigators Schembri gave him prior to his arrest, but Schembri firmly denied this, stating it was the first time he was seeing it. 

15:27 Cini noted that in another text, Schembri and Fenech discussed the pardon's draft terms and going over them together. Cini then presented a document found in Fenech's possession upon arrest, containing a statement by Melvin Theuma claiming he was the middleman in the Daphne Caruana Galizia case, providing evidence of who engaged and paid for the bomb, and stating he did this because he discovered Fenech and Schembri were working to get rid of him. When Cini asked why Theuma wrote that, Schembri said Theuma would be the best person to ask, and recalled Theuma admitting he used the photo to blackmail him. When asked if he ever tried to get rid of Melvin Theuma, Schembri answered no, and when asked why Fenech kept the document, Schembri again told the court to ask Fenech.

15.20 Prosecutor Godwin Cini showed Keith Schembri a photo of a message thread discussing lawyers, in which Schembri asked Fenech if he was still considering lawyer Giannella de Marco, to which Fenech replied that she was the best option and Schembri questioned if she would accept. Schembri then suggested speaking to lawyer Stephen Tonna Lowell, while Fenech remarked that if not, he would have to go for Franco Debono. When Cini asked if there was any prior discussion about Giannella, Schembri stated he had heard about it from Adrian Vella in Gozo, who mentioned that Giannella did not intend to accept the brief.

13:10: Cini asks for more context on the reference to Jacob Borg, and Schembri instead refers to another Times of Malta journalist at the time, Ivan Camilleri.

He says that Camilleri was suspended from the newspaper after they found out that he had been in contact with Fenech.

"Jacob Borg was just doing his job and trying to get a comment from Yorgen. He wasn't fired," Schembri said.  "Everyone knew" on the other hand, that Ivan Camilleri "was writing stories in Yorgen Fenech's favour," Schembri adds.

Camilleri was sacked from the Times of Malta soon after Fenech's arrest.

The session now takes a pause for lunch.  It will return at 3pm.

13:03: Fenech sent Schembri a link to a Malta Today article which connected Melvin Theuma to the murder.  Asked why he thought Fenech had sent this link, Schembri replied that the question would be better placed to Malta Today managing editor Saviour Balzan.  "He's after clicks," Schembri says.

Asked why he felt that Fenech was interested in the pardon, Schembri said that it was because it affected him: "If Theuma got a pardon, it would all land on Yorgen Fenech," he says.

Prosecutors move onto another text exchange between Fenech and Schembri - prosecutor Cini reads out a text from Fenech: 'maybe it's best if I go.'

Schembri says that he would tell Fenech not to leave the country and not to escape.  Cini says he texted him 'keep fighting' and 'either one or the other.'

"I told him to stay in Malta and keep fighting," Schembri says, as he notes that Fenech told him that he had been informed that Times of Malta journalist Jacob Borg and a cameraperson were present at the marina.

"I told him 'please, don't leave,'" Schembri says.

12:52 The prosecution read a text message Schembri sent to Fenech that night telling him to be aggressive and fight, and when Cini asked what he meant by that, Schembri replied that he was helping him. When asked what sort of help, Schembri noted that there are things you can promise that do not come to pass and he wanted to show he was helping even when there were things he could not assist with, emphasising that after speaking with investigator Arnaud, he would have never given Melvin Theuma a pardon with all that money involved.

12:48 Schembri discussed his contact with Fenech on the eve of his arrest and escape attempt, stating that during their phone call he told Fenech on behalf of himself and the prime minister not to leave because it would draw more attention to himself, while Fenech claimed his boat was due for a service in Sicily. Prosecutor Cini referred to a text message where Fenech told Schembri not to leave him alone and to give him support, to which Schembri explained that Fenech was asking him and the prime minister for help as everyone was panicked. Schembri confirmed he called Fenech twice to try and calm him.

12:35 Referring to Fenech's arrest, Schembri testified that on the night before the arrest, the prime minister told him the MSS had informed him Fenech was trying to flee the country on his yacht and instructed Schembri to call Fenech. Schembri recounted that they spent 25 minutes on the phone, during which he told Fenech to stop drawing attention to himself.

12:31 Cini asked where Fenech was the weekend before his arrest, to which Schembri replied he did not know, but noted that Dr Adrian Vella had told him something a week prior, explaining that Vella was in Gozo and told Fenech's lawyer Gianluca Caruana Curran to go there a day after Melvin Theuma was arrested, as they tried to get Fenech legal representation from a bunch of lawyers including Giannella De Marco, but nobody wanted the case before Fenech came back to Malta. When asked who told him that, Schembri said he knew Yorgen had told them to go to Gozo, initially claiming both Gianluca Caruana Curran and Charles Mercieca went before correcting himself to say only Caruana Curran went, as Mercieca joined the legal team later.

12:21 When prosecutor Cini asked Schembri if he had been questioned about Melvin Theuma's pardon request during his interrogation, Schembri confirmed that Fenech had spoken in an aggressive tone asking about it, to which Schembri replied that they do not dish out pardons. When asked why Fenech would ask him about it given their friendship, Schembri explained that the matter was open source and noted that anyone worried about being found out for involvement in a murder would do everything to ask about a pardon.

12:09 The prosecution exhibited Melvin Theuma's presidential pardon in court, prompting Schembri to state that he only saw the pardon on the desk of Joseph Muscat's personal assistant, Ray Caruana, adding that he just kept walking and was not involved at all in the pardon or discussions surrounding it. When Cini asked if anyone spoke to him when Theuma first asked for a pardon and meetings began, Schembri maintained that he was not in those meetings, received no information about the pardon, and knew nothing about pardons as he is not a lawyer.

12:05  Prosecutor Godwin Cini continued the questioning by asking what happened to Melvin Theuma after his arrest, to which Schembri replied that Theuma stated he had things to reveal and asked for lawyers and former PN MPs Simon Busuttil and Jason Azzopardi, noting that Theuma had an ice cream box containing a photo of himself with Schembri. When Cini asked why Theuma put the photo in the box, Schembri explained that it was to threaten him because Theuma thought Schembri was helping Yorgen Fenech, adding that when the photo was taken, Theuma had asked to move so the prime minister's picture would also be in frame, making it clear that Theuma wanted to involve the prime minister as well.

12:01 The judge and jury returned to court, allowing Keith Schembri's testimony to resume.

11:29 Cini pointed out that in the recording, Yorgen Fenech implies he was getting information from Schembri and relaying it to Melvin Theuma, which Schembri denied. When asked about what happened to Theuma, Schembri noted that Theuma received a pardon after being investigated and having a quantity of money and property discovered. Following this exchange, the court ordered a 15-minute break.

11:25 The prosecution played another recorded conversation between Yorgen Fenech and Melvin Theuma in which Melvin says to see what Keith says, and Yorgen replies that Keith tells him what he always says - that Yorgen should have told him earlier. When prosecutor Cini asked Schembri if Yorgen ever told him he did something bad and received that response, Schembri replied that it would depend on what it was about and that he did not know.

11:17 Explaining what he meant by saying he should have spoken to the prime minister, Schembri testified that he offered Joseph Muscat his resignation three times, telling him to leave him out of it, and stated that he still believes Fenech was not alone and understands why Fenech did not go to the police given that he was under the influence of drugs. Describing the moment Fenech told him, Schembri recalled that they burst into tears, hugged one another, and went home, and when asked what he meant by going into fire for Fenech, Schembri replied that he had already told the court everything and asked what else he could say.

11:10 Pressed about how he felt when Fenech hinted at his involvement, Schembri stated he felt very sad because what he did not want for Fenech had happened, believing Fenech was likely under the influence at the time, adding that he does not think Fenech was the only one involved. Schembri reiterated that rumours were circulating and Fenech gave him that indication during a time when they were holding meetings at Castille regarding the murder, explaining that he did not remember where they were or how long it was before Fenech's arrest, and that his reaction was simply to hug him because he did not know what else to do.

11:05 When asked about Yorgen Fenech's expression when he mentioned the murder, Keith Schembri digressed to recall joking with Silvio Valletta prior to Daphne Caruana Galizia's death, telling him that if she were ever killed, files would go flying and they might as well shred everything they had on her, noting he had made the remark around the time she wrote about Dom Mintoff's death.

11:02 Schembri says that he never did anything special for Fenech and simply treated him as a friend. When Cini quoted Fenech saying that when he told Schembri the truth Schembri froze, Schembri confirmed that Fenech had hinted at being involved in the murder without stating it clearly. When pressed for Fenech's exact words, Schembri explained that as Fenech's name began surfacing in the investigation, Fenech started dropping hints while they were alone, likely out for a drink, making Schembri understand his involvement. Schembri recalled that he froze and did not speak to anyone about it, admitting that his one mistake was not going to the prime minister immediately to inform him of his resignation. 

10:55 "This time, it's Yorgen saying you did walk through fire for him," Cini points out.

"That's true," Schembri replies.

He says he stood by Fenech when the businessman was struggling with health problems, just as Fenech had stood by him.

"So the only reason you walked through fire for him was his health?" Cini asks.

"Yes."

Asked when that was, Schembri says he cannot remember the exact period.

10:48 Schembri adds that he would worry a lot about Fenech and insisted he never tried to harm him when they discussed the murder case during meetings at Castille, noting that he, deputy police commissioner Silvio Valletta, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, Commissioner Lawrence Cutajar, and investigator Keith Arnaud would all leap to Fenech's defence by saying "non si quadra" ("this doesn't add up").

Prosecutor Cini asks about the relationship between Keith Schembri, Silvio Valletta, and Yorgen Fenech. Schembri explained that they shared a group chat-which also included Joe Cuschieri and Kenneth Azzopardi, as previously revealed in the media-and would meet at the ranch to share jokes.  He insists they never discussed the murder investigation. "Never. Never, never, never."

10:40 Cini points Schembri to another passage in the recording in which Yorgen Fenech claims Schembri had sent "ix-xufier tax-Xiħ" - nickname used in court for former prime minister Joseph Muscat and mentions Kenneth Camilleri.

"I never sent Kenneth," Schembri repeats.

Fenech again quotes Schembri as saying: "I haven't got rid of my own problem, so why would I get rid of someone else's?"

"I'd like to know what he meant by 'get rid of'," Schembri says. "At the time, I wasn't even charged, or out on bail."

10:38: Prosecutor Godwin Cini continued questioning Keith Schembri about recordings mentioning investigator Keith Arnaud and an individual named Owen in relation to developments in the murder investigation. When asked who Owen was, Schembri identified him as Minister Owen Bonnici. Asked how Yorgen Fenech came to know details concerning the investigation, Schembri maintained that he could only say it was not through him. 

10:29 Prosecutor Godwin Cini read from the transcript where Melvin Theuma says he wants the Keith thing sorted and Yorgen Fenech replies that he does not think Keith has the power to do it, to which Schembri responded that he had no idea and did not even know what they were talking about. When Cini asked what Fenech expected from him, Schembri stated he did not know. 

10:18 Prosecutor Godwin Cini reads further lines from the recorded conversation, pointing out a remark that as soon as a problem is seen, the government will panic, to which Schembri stated he did not have a clue what it meant. When Cini noted that Melvin said he got word to Keith and that Keith got him into this problem with Yorgen replying that it was a big problem, Schembri denied it, reiterating that he had only spoken to Melvin once in his office.

10:15 Cini read further lines from the recording in which Melvin Theuma is heard saying that Keith will come and send Kenneth, to which Schembri repeated his denial from the previous day, asserting that he did not send Kenneth. When Cini pointed out that Fenech tells Theuma that someone instructed him to figure out how to get word to the people inside, Schembri dismissed the claim as untrue.

10:13 Prosecutor Godwin Cini played an unclear audio recording to Keith Schembri, who identified the voices as belonging to Yorgen Fenech and Melvin Theuma and noted one speaker saying that the person who arranges something does not have as many problems as the person who carries it out. When Cini asked why Fenech was talking to Theuma about the hitman known as Il-Kohhu, Schembri stated that he did not know.

10:03 Prosecutor Godwin Cini asks whether Johann Cremona had ever told Keith Schembri he was afraid of someone or something.

"He never told me," Schembri replies. "But yesterday he showed me he was afraid."

"So, he told you he was afraid?" Cini asks.

"Not even you could get it out of him," Schembri responds.

Cini then returns to Schembri's earlier reference to the "trauma" he and Cremona had both experienced.

"What trauma was that?"

"The situation," Schembri replies. "I'm not going to mention it. I nearly lost all my businesses."

"Who created that situation?" Cini asks.

"Yorgen Fenech's arrest," Schembri eventually says.

09:59 The prosecution turns to the messages between Keith Schembri and Ruben 'ta' Fonzu'.

The screenshots were later passed on to Johann Cremona.

Cini asks Schembri why he appeared upset.

"What upset you?" the prosecutor asks.

Schembri sighs before replying: "Charles is the son of one of my closest friends."

Cini asks him to explain what he means by the "trauma" he referred to.

"Depression?" Cini says.

"Don't ask me what depression means, friend," Schembri shoots back.

The prosecutor then says that both Schembri and Johann Cremona had gone through difficult periods in their lives.

"What were you both going through? Did you have something in common?"

"Obviously. You'd be going on with your life as normal..." Schembri replies.

"What happened in your life?" Cini asks.

"Everyone knows."

Judge Edwina Grima interjects: "You'll have to tell us."

Schembri then begins speaking about his health problems before asking the court: "Is that enough?"

9:56 Prosecutor Godwin Cini returns to the meeting Keith Schembri had with Yorgen Fenech's lawyers just days before he was due to testify.

Cini asks what was said during the meeting.

"They asked me to help Yorgen, and I told them I had already helped him as much as I could," Schembri replies.

"What did you mean by that?" the prosecutor asks.

"I never harmed him when I testified," Schembri replies.

Pressed to explain, Schembri says: "The benefit of the doubt goes to my friend."

Cini wants specifics: "What sort of help did the lawyers want? And how could Schembri help Fenech just days before taking the witness stand?"

"They told me to help him as much as possible," Schembri repeats.

"How?" Cini asks.

"I don't know."

Asked again how he could have helped Fenech two days before testifying, Schembri replies: "Ask him."

"I'm asking you, Mr Schembri," Cini shoots back.

Schembri shrugs off the question.

He then adds: "They asked me certain questions and I said I didn't want to harm him because he's a good friend. I had visibility on many things. I mentioned some yesterday, and you didn't take me seriously. I could have said much more."

Prosecutor Godwin Cini opens by returning to the WhatsApp messages between Keith Schembri and lawyer Charles Mercieca eight days before he was due to testify.

Cini asks: "Was that before or after Schembri received the summons to testify?"

Schembri's answer barely changes: "I don't remember... I don't remember."

Cini presses on.

Was it before or after he was asked to meet Fenech's lawyers?

Again, Schembri digs in: "I don't remember."

The prosecution then turns to the meeting itself. Schembri says lawyers Charles Mercieca and Gianluca Caruana Curran were present, along with two of his colleagues.