After the VSD reporter’s testimony to the Seimas commission, the department reiterates that it has complied with the law

“The VSD strictly complies with the requirements of the law in its activities,” reads the department’s comment to BNS.

“Information about the totality of actions performed in the context of the 2019 presidential elections of the Republic of Lithuania has been submitted to the NSGK, which conducted the investigation at the time, as well as to the current temporary investigation commission based on the questions,” it says.

VSD did not comment on the testimony in detail.

T. Gailius testified to the Seimas commission that the VSD managers, in 2018, requesting to check the environment of G. Nausėda and then possibly passing the information on to persons who do not have permission to work with classified information, could have committed a disciplinary violation or even a crime.

In the course of the parliamentary investigation, it is clarified how justified and at whose request the VSD checked the environment of the presidential candidate.

The commission was created in the spring of this year after the prosecutor’s office found that the intelligence officer’s report submitted four years ago to the then chairman of the Seimas National Security and Defense Committee Vytautas Bakus about the actions of the VSD leadership was improperly examined.

The commission must submit its conclusions by March 10.

The material submitted by the speaker was examined in the Seimas in the previous term. In 2019, a VSD official appealed to V. Bakas, complaining about his managers regarding possible illegal activities.

This story is described in the book “The Speaker and the President” by investigative journalists Dovydas Pancerov and Birutė Davidonytė.

The former official claimed to journalists that in July 2018 he received several sheets with many names and a verbal order “to check the election team and the list of possible sponsors” from the deputy director of the department R. Bridikis. As it turned out, the supporters and associates of the then presidential candidate G. Nausėda were specified in it.

The NSGK of the Seimas, which then examined the situation, stated that the VSD acted legally by checking the environment of the presidential candidates, but called on them to refuse verbal orders in such situations.

VSD representatives claimed to have checked the teams of all presidential candidates, the speaker himself assured that only G. Nausėda’s surroundings were checked, and R. Bridikis confirmed to him that the lists were received from G. Nausėda himself. The president categorically denies that he asked the VSD to check his team.

T. Gailius testified publicly to the commission on Wednesday, having decided not to hide his identity anymore.

He also said he experienced psychological pressure at work, such as being told he was a whistleblower, not being invited to management meetings, and having his leave request denied. T. Gailius confirmed that it was after this case that he was being pressured by contacting STT and wrote the letter.