Leo Varadkar story in The Village??? - Mod Notes and banned Users in OP updated 16/05

skimpydoo wrote: »

Paddy where is your apology?

Gardai have seized a mobile phone from a Dublin man as part of the force’s inquiry into the leaking of a confidential document by Leo Varadkar.

The text messages were sent by Maitiú Ó Tuathail, the doctor who obtained a copy of a confidential government contract from Varadkar in 2019 when he was taoiseach. The messages make specific reference to a social media post which Varadkar, now the tanaiste, shared on his official Twitter account about a fundraising event. Another text refers to Varadkar’s attendance at a barbecue. Ó Tuathail has previously described the contents of the texts as jokes between friends.

Detectives learnt about the existence of the messages on April 7 after they took a statement from the witness, a publican from south Dublin. He was interviewed at Irishtown garda station in Dublin, where he was asked if he had copies of text exchanges with Ó Tuathail. His handset was subsequently seized under warrant by detectives from the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (NBCI) on April 27.

The witness, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was first contacted by gardai after other witnesses said they believed he was in possession of private texts which Ó Tuathail had sent to third parties about Varadkar.

The seizure of the handset from an ancillary witness suggests the NBCI investigation into Varadkar is widening.

Varadkar is the focus of an ongoing criminal investigation into the leaking of a confidential document while he was taoiseach in 2019. The inquiry is examining whether the leak constitutes a breach of the Official Secrets Act or the Criminal Justice (Corruption Offences) Act 2018, which makes it an offence to provide documents bestowing influence to friends.

Gardai still do not know why Varadkar allegedly used his influence to obtain a copy of a confidential contract held by the Department of Health and discreetly leak it to Ó Tuathail. The investigation has established the two men were good friends, formed part of the same social group and shared each other’s social media posts.

The tanaiste was questioned under caution by detectives on April 9 about why he gave a proposed contract between the Department of Health and the Irish Medical Organisation to Ó Tuathail, a former president of the rival National Association of General Practitioners (NAGP).

Ó Tuathail has also been questioned by officers. Both men have denied knowingly breaking any law. Varadkar has publicly apologised for his actions. The tanaiste has said he passed on the document only to encourage the NAGP to sign up to the same deal.

The bureau is continuing to approach and question people who, it believes, have information about the events under investigation.

Details of how Ó Tuathail acquired a copy of the contract were first revealed by Village magazine in November. Ó Tuathail had photographed the front page of the contract and circulated the image to members of the NAGP on a WhatsApp group with the words: “To be fair, Leo always delivers.”

Chay Bowes, a former NAGP member who disclosed the existence of the messages, has been interviewed by bureau detectives. He is due to be interviewed again.

Paddy Cosgrave, the Tech Summit founder who is a friend of Bowes, met detectives on Tuesday morning. It’s understood gardai wanted to establish if he had possession of any information or evidence which might advance the inquiry. Cosgrave declined to comment when contacted.

The publican, who cannot be named for legal reasons, also declined to comment when contacted yesterday. Calls to Varadkar’s spokesman went unanswered last night. A spokesman for Garda Headquarters said it was not policy to discuss ongoing investigations.

LeakyLime wrote: »

Are those text messages referred to in today's article, ones previously published?

McMurphy wrote: »

Full article here.

Pintman Paddy Losty wrote: »

Don't think you're allowed repost entire articles like that when they're behind a paywall?