At 9:00 AM, a press conference will be held in the Sejm with the participation of the head of the PiS parliamentary club, Mariusz Błaszczak, and MPs Sebastian Kaleta and Marcin Warchoł.

At 9:30 AM, the investigative committee into the "envelope elections" will interrogate former MP Michał Wypij and former Deputy Minister of State Assets, Artur Soboń.

European Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, will be in Warsaw. The agenda includes meetings with representatives of the Sejm and Senate, as well as discussions with ministers: Radosław Sikorski (Foreign Affairs), Adam Bodnar (Justice), and Adam Szłapka (European Affairs). A press conference is scheduled for 12:45 PM at the Ministry of Justice.

- Prosecutor General Adam Bodnar will appoint an investigative team at the National Prosecutor's Office to examine the Fund for the Support of Persons Deprived of Liberty. It will comprise prosecutors who will review notifications and proceedings related to this matter that have reached the prosecutor's office in recent years. The team will investigate the proper management and expenditure of funds from the Fund. The purchase of the PEGASUS system will also be examined, among other issues - the Ministry of Justice announced in a statement.

- I must say that everything we have felt instinctively over the past years is being confirmed. Macierewicz's subcommittee served to prove improbable theses. And the fact that it manipulated, lied, and changed experts – we saw it all practically every day. Macierewicz established a political thesis and then, against logic and against the law, tried to prove that thesis. It cost a lot of money, and this needs to be accounted for - stated Marcin Kierwiński in "Jeden na jeden" on TVN24.

- The most symptomatic and what is most shocking is the gigantic amount of money spent on Macierewicz's sorcery. This needs to be accounted for. It's good that Prime Minister Kosiniak-Kamysz and Minister Tomczyk have detached this gentleman from public funds. Now is the time for accountability and potential referrals to the prosecutor's office - he continued.

- After this grenade launcher incident, though 'incident' might be the wrong word, after this disgrace of General Szymczyk, nothing happened within the Polish police. There were no consequences. Szymczyk should have been dismissed then. But I can say that not only did he not cease to be the Commander-in-Chief of the Police, but during the period from the grenade launcher explosion to his departure, he still received bonuses from the Ministry of Interior and Administration. Quarterly bonuses, his work was assessed so highly. This is something absurd – stated Marcin Kierwiński on TVN24's "Jeden na jeden".

- These were bonuses in the amount of approximately 20,000 PLN; Mr. Szymczyk received such bonuses throughout 2023. Yes [4 times 20,000 in 2023], Mr. Szymczyk received such bonuses from Minister Kamiński – he continued.

- I am very satisfied with Commander Boron's work. He will certainly play a very important role in the KGP, because he is doing a great job. Please allow me to make these decisions when the time comes - stated Marcin Kierwiński in "Jeden na jeden" on TVN24.

- Some people have even stopped recognizing Mr. Wawrzyk, even though they made videos with him. This is very characteristic of PiS. They believe that by throwing Wawrzyk off the sleigh, by removing him from the candidate list and firing him from the ministry, the matter is closed. No, the matter is not closed, and it is a gigantic scandal - stated Marcin Kierwiński in "Jeden na jeden" on TVN24.

- Today I am asking a public question of Mr. Kaczyński, because I know he doesn't recognize Mr. Wawrzyk, he has a problem with that now. But how is it, Mr. MP Kaczyński, that as Deputy Prime Minister for Security, you completely failed to notice what was happening with Polish documents, Polish visas? Did you really not see it? Or perhaps you saw it and tolerated it? This must be accounted for - stated Marcin Kierwiński in TVN24's "Jeden na jeden".

- The conclusion of this commission's work does not end the clarification, not of the catastrophe, because the issue of the accident, the catastrophe, was dealt with by the Miller commission. But we must assess almost 8 years of the subcommittee's functioning, which was headed by MP Macierewicz. We must clarify the justification, purposefulness, and credibility of these actions. Because we have not noticed any effect so far, the public has not noticed it, nor have state institutions - stated Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz at a press conference.

- Today, we are establishing a team to assess the functioning of the subcommittee for the re-examination of the air disaster. We will be assessing the subcommittee's actions, but we will not be assessing or investigating the causes of the catastrophe. That was done in previous years by Mr. Miller's commission - the Deputy Prime Minister continued.

- According to initial estimates, we initially spoke of PLN 33 million, subsequent stages of analysis and audit show that it is already PLN 36 million spent during the functioning of the subcommittee under Mr. Macierewicz's leadership, of which PLN 13 million was spent on research and expert opinions - he added.

- There are things we know and things we don't know, which a parliamentary investigative committee with greater powers will need to establish. We know that Pegasus was purchased in Poland for the CBA, we know it was used against political opponents. What we don't know is the scale. We know of a dozen or so individuals who were definitely surveilled. But this is just a fraction of what was done during the PiS era. We know that all data immediately landed on servers in Israel. Thus, Mossad had immediate access to it - stated Marcin Bosacki on "Sygnały dnia" (Signals of the Day) on PR1.

- I would like to clearly emphasize the apolitical nature of the actions and the team, and of these actions we are undertaking here at the Ministry of National Defence. Therefore, I thank you for participating in this conference. Now there will probably be questions of a political nature. We will remain alone with the Minister [Tomczyk]; that is our task. Politics and civilian oversight are our tasks at the Ministry of National Defence. You have tasks related to clarifying and verifying what has happened over the last 8 years. We will not stand behind you at press conferences. We wanted to present you, and that stage has concluded – stated Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz at a press conference at the Ministry of National Defence.

- The Saxon Palace has recently been making waves. It's about to get louder – stay tuned - wrote Minister Bartłomiej Sienkiewicz on Twitter.

Ostatnio głośno jest o Pałacu Saskim. Będzie głośniej – stay tuned

— Bartłomiej Sienkiewicz (@BartSienkiewicz) January 19, 2024

- Now we see that the new government is fully determined to rebuild the rule of law in Poland, this is a change that we warmly welcome (…). I am convinced that Poland can fully restore its position as a state respecting the rule of law and supporting the EU, together with the Polish authorities. We are very interested in the Polish authorities preparing either an action plan or a program for restoring the rule of law in Poland - stated Didier Reynders at a press conference with Adam Bodnar.


- This is a very important step [the change of Minister of Justice], it is an opportunity to make progress and certainly to prepare for the closure of the Article 7 procedure before the [European Union] Council. We are aware that this process is not simple, we will discuss this at the Justice Council next week, then another meeting will take place, we will be able to discuss it further, we also note the recent changes that are taking place in Poland - he continued.

- We remain in dialogue with the European Commission. We are taking further steps towards achieving the milestones. This work is intensive and operational, but it's also important that we are not solely focused on fulfilling the milestones related to the National Recovery Plan. Our primary concern is the restoration of the rule of law for citizens and the respect for constitutional values – stated Adam Bodnar at a press conference.

- First and foremost, for some time now, for years, we have been explaining that the concerns we have regarding the rule of law in Poland have been documented in a report, and have also been presented in our various recommendations. What we are trying to do at the moment is to see if there is a possibility of restoring the rule of law. Of course, we are considering all possible decisions that may also be taken by the new government, but at the moment we are analyzing the situation and considering how the rule of law can be restored - stated Didier Reynders at a press conference with Adam Bodnar.

- You know that I discussed in great detail with the previous government the issues of possible implementation of various reforms that would be fully in line with the milestones. You know that in the case of the previous government, it would have been possible for me to turn to parliament and adopt a law, after very good negotiations with the European Commission, as well as with me. Due to the actions of the president, as well as the Constitutional Tribunal, this law was blocked. Now, however, we want this process to be initiated by laws, to turn to parliament. I hope we will have support from all branches of power, including the president, to restore the rule of law in Poland - said Didier Reynders at a press conference with Adam Bodnar.

- Everything I had to say on this indifferent interrogation matter, I included in the free part of my statement - this is how Artur Soboń, former PiS MP and former Deputy Minister of State Assets, answers every question posed by the investigative committee on envelope elections.

Members of the ruling majority questioned Soboń, among other things, about emails he allegedly sent to Michał Dworczyk regarding the envelope elections, as well as about conversations with Prime Minister Morawiecki and party leader Kaczyński.

- I worked as Secretary of State in the government of Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki in several ministries, including the Ministry of State Assets, from December 5, 2019, to October 7, 2021, while simultaneously being a Member of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland. During the period relevant to the scope of the investigative committee's work, regulations regarding the division of labor within the leadership of the MAP [Ministry of State Assets] were in force. [...] The scope of my responsibilities was shaped in accordance with these regulations - he stated, then reading the content of the regulations, including which companies he supervised as Deputy Minister of State Assets.

Nowe władze spółki Pałac Saski
W trosce o prawidłowe wydatkowanie środków publicznych oraz kierując się wolą należytej realizacji inwestycji, a także dodatkowymi przesłankami dotyczącymi działalności spółki, minister kultury i dziedzictwa narodowego @BartSienkiewicz postanowił… pic.twitter.com/Z227MrBU3D

— Ministerstwo Kultury i Dziedzictwa Narodowego (@kultura_gov_pl) January 19, 2024

- We are requesting that the investigative committee apply to the District Court in Warsaw to impose a disciplinary fine of PLN 3,000 on Artur Soboń for groundlessly refusing to testify before the committee on January 19, 2024 - stated Dariusz Joński during the committee's session.

- Additionally, we request the committee to consider filing a notification concerning the suspicion of Artur Soboń committing a crime consisting of concealing the truth - he continued.

Tego problemu więcej nie będzie. pic.twitter.com/6Dw3S16s5x

— Donald Tusk (@donaldtusk) January 19, 2024

- We have confirmation from the EC – Poland meets the last 3 conditions necessary for the full activation of structural funds – 76 billion euros for program implementation until 2027. - Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz wrote on Twitter.

Mamy potwierdzenie z KE - Polska spełnia 3 ostatnie warunki niezbędne do pełnego uruchomienia funduszy strukturalnych - 76 mld euro na realizację programów do 2027r.

— Katarzyna Pełczyńska (@Kpelczynska) January 19, 2024

- I voted for a motion and resolution, firstly, to ask the district court to impose a disciplinary penalty on the witness [Artur Soboń]. And secondly, I asked the committee to consider such a motion regarding the possibility of Mr. Soboń committing a crime, to be referred to the prosecutor's office – stated Dariusz Joński on Radio Zet.

- I voted for the motion and resolution, firstly to request the district court to impose a disciplinary penalty on the witness [Mr. Soboń]. And secondly, I asked the commission to consider such a motion regarding the possibility of Mr. Soboń committing a crime, to be referred to the prosecutor's office – stated Dariusz Joński on Radio Zet.

- It is worth emphasizing that Mariusz Kamiński, who has been convicted and is currently serving his sentence in custody. He threatened MP Wypij, who is now a witness, with prison. With prison and that he would destroy them. Them, because it was several of them, MPs (...) If the coordinator of special services in the Prime Minister's villa, by the way, in the Prime Minister's villa, without the Prime Minister, but with the participation of Jarosław Kaczyński, says that they should be in prison, or that he will destroy them, then the jokes are over – said Dariusz Joński on Radio Zet.

- Mr. Kamiński will definitely be questioned. Undoubtedly, he must be questioned because this name has come up again. I will just remind you that at the previous hearing, witness Gowin stated that he was invited by Mr. Zbigniew Ziobro, the Prosecutor General and Minister of Justice, who informed the then Deputy Prime Minister that he had received an order to use the prosecution against Deputy Prime Minister Gowin – he continued.

- I don't think this commission should drag on for years at all; rather, I reckon it in two quarters, in a few months. Because I believe people expect it to be efficient and swift, hence perhaps the pace is high and fast, but the matter isn't overly complicated, though we have many witnesses. About 30 witnesses have already been voted on there, and we have already heard from a few – Dariusz Joński stated on Radio Zet.

- An interesting point is that Jarosław Gowin stated during his interrogation that Mateusz Morawiecki knew the 'envelope elections' wouldn't take place when he announced them in mid-April, yet he spent 70 million zlotys. He knew it was already technically absolutely impossible – he continued.

- Maciej Lasek, an excellent expert with great credibility, knowledge, and experience, is the government's plenipotentiary for CPK. We promised one thing: we will conduct a thorough audit, an analysis, and present how we see it. Regarding the railway component, we have no major reservations; we stated that it cannot be built on the harm of people […]. As for the airport component, it is too serious a decision to answer without an in-depth audit – said Dariusz Joński on Radio Zet.

- At this moment, we have practically interviewed 4 witnesses, and after this initial stage, we already see that Jarosław Kaczyński was definitively the decisive person regarding the envelope elections. This is contrary to what Prime Minister Morawiecki, Minister Szumowski, and also MPs from Porozumienie initially stated, who did not want to agree to these elections taking place. They were threatened, they were encouraged in an unconventional way to vote for these elections - stated Jacek Karnowski on TVP Info.

- Yes, President Jarosław Kaczyński will be summoned [before the investigative committee], Prime Minister Morawiecki will be summoned, and Marshal Witek. They will be summoned to this committee - stated Jacek Karnowski on TVP Info.