Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner News: Prosecutor Asks Federal Judge to Investigate Argentina President's Alleged Tampering in 1994 Bombing Probe
Gerardo Pollicita, an Argentine prosecutor, has requested that a federal judge investigate President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner over allegations that she helped to cover up Iran's connection to a 1994 bombing at a Jewish center that led to the deaths of 85 people, according to the BBC.
Pollicita has taken over the case from Alberto Nisman, the man who officially accused the Argentine president of conspiring in a cover up and was set to testify against her at congressional committee when he was found dead under what many believe to be suspect circumstances.
The president denies the allegations, as does the country of Iran.
Fernandez goes so far as to call the probe into the alleged cover-up an "anti-democratic attack." Jorge Capitanich, President Fernandez's cabinet chief, has claimed that by pursuing the investigation the courts are in fact trying to stage a "judicial coup." And Anibal Fernandez, a spokesman for the presidency, sees that going ahead with the case is an attempt to harm democracy in the country.
Now that the new prosecutor has put in his formal request, a judge will be compelled to decide whether to authorize new investigations in order to prove the president's involvement in any cover up.
Fernandez faces prosecution and charges if the judge agrees with the prosecutor that there are enough factors to prove that Fernandez committed an actual crime.
Prior to being found with a gunshot wound in his head, Nisman published a 300-page report on the attack on the Amia Jewish center, in which he implicated the president and other high ranking Argentine officials.
In his report Nisman claimed that the president, in concert with others, conspired to protect Iranian suspects in the bombing case as part of a trade-off for deals on oil and other Iranian goods.
The president has posited that Nisman might have been manipulated into committing suicide by rogue security agents in an attempt to discredit her administration.
As reported by BBC, Pollicita, who has written a document saying that there was enough evidence to go ahead with the case, has stated that: "An investigation will be initiated with an eye toward substantiating... the accusations and whether those responsible can be held criminally responsible."
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