On Tuesday, the Seimas ad hoc commission set up for inquiry into the VSD activities during the 2019 presidential campaign registered its findings at the Parliament, making the report available to the public.
The data available proves that the VSD director collected intelligence on Nausėda’s team members and supporters. The ad hoc commission admitted it had not been able to verify if the VSD also collected information on other presidential candidates and their environment at the time.
The commission said the findings suggest the VSD data could have been disclosed to third persons, including Nausėda.
According to the commission, Nausėda hindered the Seimas from carrying out its constitutional functions. He violated the Constitution and his oath to respect and obey the law by refusing to communicate with the commission, it said.
The VSD whistleblower’s story first attracted parliament’s attention in 2019. However, the Seimas Committee on National Security and Defence concluded at the time that the VSD acted within its competence.
The Parliament returned to the issue after investigative journalists Dovydas Pancerovas and Birutė Davidonytė published the book A Whistleblower and the President, which revealed a potentially unlawful collection of information about private citizens during the 2019 presidential election campaign. It later transpired that VSD employee Tomas Gailius was the whistleblower.
The ad hoc commission had to submit its findings to the Seimas by 10 March but the deadline was extended until 26 March.
