Ex-bookkeeper 'clears Sarkozy'
Source: Agencies |
July 9, 2010, Friday
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AN aide to President Nicolas Sarkozy said yesterday that a former bookkeeper for France's richest woman had denied ever saying Sarkozy personally received envelopes stuffed with cash in illegal political donations.
The bookkeeper, Claire Thibout, was questioned by police on Wednesday evening and yesterday after telling investigators and a media Website that she withdrew cash to be given to politicians, including Sarkozy, on behalf of Liliane Bettencourt, heiress to the L'Oreal cosmetics fortune, and her late husband.
"She totally and clearly exonerates the president," the aide in Sarkozy's Elysee presidential office said of Thibout's latest statement to police, which has not been officially released. Thibout's lawyer, Antoine Gillot, said public prosecutors had put unacceptable pressure on his client to recant while denying him access to her.
The presidential aide said the bookkeeper had also cleared Labor Minister Eric Woerth, who was treasurer of Sarkozy's 2007 election campaign, of allegations of receiving a cash donation from the Bettencourts.
The scandal, which began as a family feud between the heiress and her daughter, has rocked France's conservative government, leading to calls for Woerth to resign and for Sarkozy to explain himself. "This is a legal turning point," the presidential aide insisted.
The bookkeeper, Claire Thibout, was questioned by police on Wednesday evening and yesterday after telling investigators and a media Website that she withdrew cash to be given to politicians, including Sarkozy, on behalf of Liliane Bettencourt, heiress to the L'Oreal cosmetics fortune, and her late husband.
"She totally and clearly exonerates the president," the aide in Sarkozy's Elysee presidential office said of Thibout's latest statement to police, which has not been officially released. Thibout's lawyer, Antoine Gillot, said public prosecutors had put unacceptable pressure on his client to recant while denying him access to her.
The presidential aide said the bookkeeper had also cleared Labor Minister Eric Woerth, who was treasurer of Sarkozy's 2007 election campaign, of allegations of receiving a cash donation from the Bettencourts.
The scandal, which began as a family feud between the heiress and her daughter, has rocked France's conservative government, leading to calls for Woerth to resign and for Sarkozy to explain himself. "This is a legal turning point," the presidential aide insisted.
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