-- DZIENNIK WSCHODNI HEADLINE ON LUBlin MAYOR'S CORRUPTION SCANDAL: “CBA agents arrested four people. In exchange for granting approval to build a skyscraper on Zana Street in Lublin, they expected a million zloty bribe – investigators claim. Among those arrested is Piotr Kowalczyk – former chairman of the Lublin city council.” https://www.dziennikwschodni.pl/lublin/milionowa-lapowka-za-zgode-na-wiezowiec-piotr-kowalczyk-zatrzymany,n,1000256074.html -- SZCZECINEK MAYOR FROM PO CONVICTED - GŁOS KOSZALIŃSKI HEADLINE: “Let us recall that the prosecutor accused the mayor of exceeding his authority and submitting a forged, inaccurate document to obtain a subsidy, as well as inciting an official, Tomasz P., who was also accused in this case, to destroy documents. The prosecutor sought suspended prison sentences and fines for both. Daniel Rak pleaded not guilty, and his lawyer requested acquittal, arguing that the trivial matter should be dismissed and has a political undertone (the mayor is a member of Civic Platform). He also argued that part of the subsidy for training officials, which the city was not entitled to, was returned before the police initiated proceedings.” https://szczecinek.naszemiasto.pl/wyrok-na-burmistrza-szczecinka-zobacz-co-postanowil-sad/ar/c1-7453343 -- ZANDBERG'S STRENGTH IS THAT HE'S NOT PRETENDING – JAN ROKITA ON SOCIAL MEDIA: “Zandberg has a completely new idea for fighting PiS. The strength of this idea is that he is not pretending and is completely authentic in his belief in each of the projects he announces. It is precisely this belief that distinguishes Zandberg from the cynical, post-communist 'old left' millionaires like Czarzasty.” -- IT SOUNDED SO BELIEVABLE THAT PIS WAS SILENT, THERE WAS SILENCE – ROKITA CONTINUES: “Zandberg, on the other hand, treated the entire conflict tearing Poland apart so far (about the constitution, rule of law, dictatorship, etc.) with a single sentence, in which he assured the prime minister that, if anyone, then he himself and his party companions 'will not hesitate when the time for reckoning comes.' It sounded (by the way, perhaps for the first time) so believable that in the PiS parliamentary ranks, no one from the hall protested, shouted anything offensive at the speaker, or laughed ironically. There was silence.” https://wpolityce.pl/m/polityka/476132-rokita-w-sieci-co-odroznia-zandberga-od-starej-lewicy -- LESZEK JAŻDŻEWSKI ON TWITTER: If Hołownia ran for Primate, he would have my vote sight unseen. -- HOŁOWNIA LIKE TYMIŃSKI – ŁUKASZ WARZECHA IN FAKT: “That history warrants the utmost suspicion towards suddenly emerging political projects like Hołownia's candidacy. Questions about the source of funding, the purpose and program of the presidency, even the reason for running – are justified. We know nothing about Hołownia as a politician. He has no experience in managing anything, and based on his previous statements, it's impossible to determine his views on the most important matters for the state. However, he is relatively popular and can present himself as someone outside the system. This is a common narrative for people coming from outside.” https://www.fakt.pl/wydarzenia/polityka/lukasz-warzecha-o-szansach-szymona-holownii/dz34jdr -- GAZETA.PL ON HOW HOŁOWNIA WORKED ON HIS PROGRAM: “As Gazeta.pl has learned, Szymon Hołownia has been working on his own program for several months. To this end, he has created his own staff and invited several trusted experts from various fields to collaborate. According to our findings, one of the important points of his program will be issues related to the environment and the fight against climate change. Łukasz Kijek wrote: 'Szymon Hołownia wants to position himself as a candidate from outside the two warring political camps. This can be both an advantage and a serious obstacle in the presidential race.'” http://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/wiadomosci/7,114884,25481041,szymon-holownia-organizuje-spotkanie-z-dziennikarzami-wtedy.html -- BIELAN ON HOW EVEN SOMEONE PSYCHOLOGICALLY STRONG MAY NOT WITHSTAND SUCH PRESSURE FOR MORE THAN A FEW DAYS – 300LIVE: https://300polityka.pl/live/2019/12/05/ -- IN THE SHADOW OF BANAS – RESIGNATIONS SHATTER THE FINANCE MINISTRY. PIS DOESN'T CONTROL THE MINISTRY – PIOTR MĄCZYŃSKI IN GW: “In the last few days, the Ministry of Finance has lost key employees responsible for tightening the tax system. However, the personnel carousel is much larger than anyone realizes. PiS does not control the ministry.” -- DIRECTOR CHANGES AT THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE ARE LIKE MCDONALD'S MEAL SERVICE – MIĄCZYŃSKI CONTINUES: “The change of directors in the ministry now resembles serving meals at McDonald's. Quick and without ceremony. At the end of October, Sławomir Dudek, director of the macroeconomic policy department, left his post. Why didn't he fit in? – Within the leadership of the Ministry of Finance, there is talk of dismantling the expenditure rule [this is a muzzle on inflating budget expenditures] and they are looking for someone who will tell them what can be changed in it to increase the expenditure limit – our source said. The ministry commented: 'Director Sławomir Dudek resigned from his position for personal reasons.' At that time, the director of the public debt department, Robert Zima, also resigned. However, the list of departures was much longer. Paweł Cybulski, head of the National Tax School, the director of the logistics office, the director of financial information (and several deputies) were dismissed.” https://wyborcza.pl/7,155287,25478326,karuzela-dymisji-w-ministerstwie-finansow-w-resorcie-dobrze.html -- PIS FORMS A TEAM OF LAWYERS FOR BANAS, NIK PRESIDENT VISITS LAW FIRMS: “PiS has formed an informal team of lawyers to deal with the problem of the compromised head of the Supreme Audit Office (NIK), Marian Banaś (64) – Fakt has learned. But Banaś is also deploying his own forces in this war. Fakt has established that he is hiring lawyers to fight on his behalf. A cool afternoon. Powiśle in Warsaw. Marian Banaś takes the elevator to the 6th floor of an expensive tenement house, where prestigious law firms are located. It is there that he seeks help in the war for a position he does not want to give up. As Fakt has established, Banaś is recruiting lawyers. They are to help him in the prosecutor's investigation into his assets.” https://www.fakt.pl/wydarzenia/polityka/pis-szuka-sposobu-by-pozbyc-sie-mariana-banasia/7fczpqn -- BANAS IS DEFENDING HIMSELF AGAINST PIS LIKE MISIEWICZ – PROF. ANTONI DUDEK IN CONVERSATION WITH JACEK GĄDKA ON GAZETA.PL: “Banaś, in turn, decided that the scale of these expectations was too great, and at the same time, he was painfully hit when his son, Jakub Banaś, was dismissed from a state-owned bank. He therefore concluded that he had to defend himself. Bartłomiej Misiewicz also reached a similar conclusion at one time – when he was released from arrest, he declared how much the Ombudsman was needed and added that an independent court would clear him of the charges brought by the prosecutor. This was also a stance very critical of the camp to which he owed his career. Today, Banaś has found himself outside – as they say in the ruling camp – the PiS family and is starting to defend himself against this PiS.” -- SCHETYNA IS NOT USING THE DOOR LEFT OPEN BY PIS – DUDEK CONTINUES: “He has it, but it's already a matter of political talent, which the leader of the largest opposition party should particularly demonstrate now. PiS has opened a door for Schetyna to step out and present himself as a serious politician, yet he is not taking advantage of it. And yet he could say: PiS is guilty of the Banaś affair, but we will naturally help solve this problem, and at the same time, we want, for example, to change the constitutional provisions on the Constitutional Tribunal and elect the entire composition of the TC anew.” -- THE PRESIDENT SHOULD ACT ON THE BANAS ISSUE – DUDEK CONTINUES: “Yes. If he came out with some initiative, invited the leaders of all parties, proposed a constitutional change himself, he would make an impact. Undoubtedly, the president is basking in the warmth of international successes like the lifting of visas to the USA and the presence of NATO troops in Poland – but in the campaign, it might turn out that no one cares. It's high time for the president to speak out on the Banaś issue.” http://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/wiadomosci/7,114884,25478098,prof-antoni-dudek-sprawa-banasia-to-jeden-z-najwiekszych-kryzysow.html -- BANAS IS NO LONGER A PIS MEMBER – MICHAŁ KARNOWSKI: “In essence, Mr. Banaś's statement is a withdrawal from the United Right camp, a departure from that environment. This is an important moment: the severance of ties is unambiguous and decisive. Rejecting the requests and encouragements of the prime minister, PiS leaders, and politicians of the formation that facilitated this candidacy means the opening of a new stage. Therefore, Mr. Marian Banaś is no longer a PiS man. Whose man is he then? It all depends on who will support, and who will not, the legal solutions aimed at resolving this situation. Law and Justice made a mistake, but they drew good conclusions. Mr. Marian Banaś has drawn no conclusions. The opposition, for now, thinks it's good for the issue to fester. However, I am convinced that public opinion can perceive the true dimension of the affair.” https://wpolityce.pl/m/polityka/476062-pan-banas-wypisal-sie-wlasnie-z-obozu-zjednoczonej-prawicy -- JACEK ŻAKOWSKI ON THE CONCENTRATION OF PATHOLOGY – writes in GW: “Banaś or someone else – it doesn't change much. The question of whether, when, in what manner, under what and whose pressure Marian Banaś will resign is interesting, but it doesn't hold much significance for Poland or Poles. What is important for us is how long this system will continue to extract from a society of mostly normal and honest people, to the highest positions, Banasiów, Piebiaków, Kamińskich, Chrzanowskich, Glapińskich, Piotrowiczów, Macierewiczów, Kuchcińskich, who create an unprecedented concentration of pathology of almost all kinds at the state level of independent Poland in our history.” https://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,25480432,juz-lepiej-niech-banas-trwa-na-stanowisku-jako-ucielesnienie.html -- THE BANAS AFFAIR IS THE END OF GOVERNANCE 'WITHOUT ANY PROCEDURE' – JAKUB MAJMUREK in Krytyka Polityczna: “Now it has turned out that in a matter crucial for the party, the will of a 'rank-and-file MP' has hit a wall. Jarosław Kaczyński is completely helpless here – more so than he was in the dispute with the president over judicial reforms. By staying in his position, Banaś sends a signal to various ambitious players in the PiS camp that perhaps it's time to ask if the Żoliborz king is naked. Kaczyński's system of personal governance 'without any procedure' is a pathology. The paradox of PiS Poland is the fact that this pathology is being overturned by another – Banaś, who faces very serious charges and heads the Supreme Audit Office. The fact that the constitutional order is being defended against Kaczyński by someone with such dubious connections proves the state of Polish politics.” https://krytykapolityczna.pl/kraj/banasiowy-zugzwang-jakub-majmurek/ -- ESCALATION IN THE WAR BETWEEN PIS AND THE HEAD OF NIK - headline in DGP. -- SUCCESSION AFTER BANAS IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE HEAD OF NIK HIMSELF – Bartosz Godusławski in DGP: “Putting aside the head of this institution himself and the matters he might have up his sleeve, this is pressure on a constitutional body and an attempt to force a decision by people who have no authority to do so. Banaś claims that his family is under attack. And that this attack is aimed at forcing his resignation. These are not the methods of a democratic rule of law state. Soon, public sympathy might shift towards the head of NIK. Certainly, the issue of attacking another constitutional body will not gain sympathy. At this moment, only the disclosure of the CBA control report will give the public the opportunity to form an opinion on this matter. Even if it is devastating for the President of NIK, nothing justifies the manner in which he is being pressured to resign from office.” -- GODUSŁAWSKI ON DGP'S REQUEST TO DISCLOSE MONITORING AND ACCESS LOGS: “To verify the version of events described by us once again, we asked CIS to provide access logs to the Sejm and to show the monitoring from the day when Marian Banaś's envoy – according to DGP's findings – was supposed to arrive at the Sejm. Our informants indicate that he left the building after 11 AM. This is sufficient data to clarify the matter unequivocally. The parliament is now packed with cameras; it is easy to track anyone's movement within it. However, CIS referred us to Monday's statement. The monitoring recording will probably soon be replaced by recordings from subsequent days, so we may never see this evidence. The Sejm access log, however, will not disappear so easily.” https://forsal.pl/artykuly/1443060,goduslawski-sukcesja-po-banasiu-wazniejsza-niz-sam-szef-nik-opinia.html -- ON THE ABW PROCEEDINGS REGARDING THE NIK PRESIDENT'S SECURITY CERTIFICATE – IZABELA KACPRZAK AND GRAŻYNA ZAWADKA IN RZ: “On December 2, the Internal Security Agency initiated a verification proceeding against Marian Banaś. The reason is – as informed by Stanisław Żaryn, spokesman for the minister-coordinator of special services – 'ABW's own findings, as well as the results of the CBA control, and the commencement of a prosecutor's investigation.' 'Rzeczpospolita' has learned from NIK that President Banaś had not received any decision from the ABW by Wednesday regarding the suspension of his certificate and the initiation of a verification proceeding. This would practically paralyze the management of the Chamber.” https://www.rp.pl/Polityka/312049881-Marian-Banas-sprawdzany-przez-sluzby.html -- TOMASZ KRZYŻAK ASKS IN RZ IF ZIOBRO FEARS TAKING ACTION ON LIFE PROTECTION: “The press office of the Ministry of Justice considered that it was not competent to process the matter and transferred it to the press office of the General Prosecutor's Office. From there – despite many assurances that a response would be provided – no position was received. All this indicates that either chaos and inertia reign in the offices subordinate to the minister, or Minister Zbigniew Ziobro simply fears difficult questions and addressing the issue. Or perhaps the issue of abortion – which has been discussed in the corridors for a long time – is an element of political maneuvering within the United Right? And yet, as early as 2012, Ziobro said that 'the issue of abortion is not a political issue, but a matter of conscience.'” https://www.rp.pl/Rzad-PiS/312049882-Tomasz-Krzyzak-W-co-gra-lider-Solidarnej-Polski.html -- SE ON VISITORS TO KACZYŃSKI IN HOSPITAL: “The PiS leader cannot complain of loneliness as he recovers in an Otwock hospital after knee replacement surgery. Today, he was visited by, among others, Jan Maria Tomaszewski, Maciej Łopiński, and Minister of Health Łukasz Szumowski.” https://www.se.pl/wiadomosci/polityka/bliscy-odwiedzili-kaczynskiego-w-szpitalu-co-bylo-w-swiatecznej-torbie-zdjecia-aa-ghKo-4evc-y8nx.html -- BIRTHDAYS: Wojciech Skurkiewicz, Borys Kudlička.