Relations reject Socrates’ request for the resignation of Judge Carlos Alexandre

The Lisbon Court of Appeal has rejected a motion by former Prime Minister José Sócrates to remove Judge Carlos Alexandre from the EDP process. The news was published by Correio da Manhã and confirmed by Observador.

Socrates’ request comes after the Ministry of Public Opinion asked Carlos Alexandre to remove Socrates’ status as an assistant in the trial, a measure that the judge agreed to last December. We are talking about the communication of the former Prime Minister with the former Minister of the Economy (and defendant in the process) Manuel Piño via WhatsApp.

In a dispatch that the Observer had access to at the time, Carlos Alexandre believes that José Socrates did not follow the principles expected of an assistant and that instead of helping the prosecutor’s office, he passed confidential information to Manuel Piño.

Judge Carlos Alexander strips Socrates of assistant status in EDP case

In response, Socrates’ defense appealed the decision to the Court of Appeal, asking Carlos Alexandre to dismiss the case due to a “known incompatibility” with the former prime minister. The court now rejects that claim.