The leader of the PSD accuses a “sheer scheme” in the plagiarism scandal of the Minister of Justice. “I am convinced that he respected the law”

The president of the PSD, Sorin Grindeanu, said on Monday evening that the Minister of Justice, Radu Marinescu, “has the full support” of the party in the face of the accusations of plagiarism he is facing.

Investigative journalist Emilia Șercan published, on January 12, in PressOne, an analysis according to which at least 140 of the 247 pages in Radu Marinescu's doctoral thesis contain text copied from other authors.

On Monday evening, Sorin Grindeanu was asked on Romania TV whether he will replace the Minister of Justice in order to “make peace” in the governing coalition, according to Agerpres.

“We know very well what happened and why this attack. This scheme that these gentlemen have been implementing for many years is far-sighted. It is a job that was patented a long time ago. It is very well understood what is desired by the removal of Minister Marinescu. I say this: if someone did not respect the law, they must pay”, answered the PSD leader.

“He was head of promotion, he was an eminent student”

He said that he trusts that Radu Marinescu respected the law.

“If he didn't do this, this is a matter that we will have to correct. But I don't think so. I know that Radu Marinescu was the head of graduation, he was an eminent student. I am convinced that he respected the law. There is a commission that is currently analyzing this work. Until then, Radu Marinescu has the full support of the PSD, without any hesitation,” Grindeanu added.

The PSD leader mentioned, among other things, that he is not negotiating with President Nicușor Dan for the positions of chief prosecutor.

“I don't negotiate with the chief prosecutors and I don't think the president of Romania does either. I know that there is a competition for these positions. This competition was started I think at the beginning of this month. This is not negotiable”, Sorin Grindeanu also declared.

PSD, message of support for Marinescu

A few hours after the appearance of the analysis made by Emilia Șercan, the PSD sent a statement in which it said that it would continue to support the Minister of Justice “without reservations” and “condemns the vile maneuver by which he was accused of plagiarism, immediately after he announced that the appointments of the heads of the high-ranking prosecutor's offices will not be of a political nature.”

Radu Marinescu also had a reaction, who declared that “truth cannot be synonymous with simple media allegations, even bizarre” and insisted that his thesis was “in accordance with the legislation of that time”. In a post on his Facebook page, titled “Why now? Why me?”, the minister said the article was “defamatory and full of contradictions”.

Shortly after Marinescu's post, Emilia Șercan responded, explaining why she checked the minister's doctoral thesis: “Because I check the theses of those whose CV smells of imposture at the post office. There are others to come, of course”, said journalist Emilia Șercan.