Žemaitaitis says claims of LRT crimes lacked factual basis

Remigijus Žemaitaitis, leader of the opposition Nemunas Dawn party, said his earlier claims about possible criminal conduct by Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT) head Monika Garbačiauskaitė-Budrienė and the public broadcaster’s staff had no factual basis when understood as statements of fact, LRT reported.

In a statement posted on Facebook on Wednesday, Žemaitaitis said neither the State Audit Office’s audit of LRT nor decisions by competent authorities had established that Garbačiauskaitė-Budrienė or other LRT employees had committed criminal, corrupt or other self-serving acts. He also said he regretted that some of his wording could have been understood as personally offensive and did not meet the standards of proper public discussion.

Garbačiauskaitė-Budrienė said she hoped the episode would remind politicians and others with large audiences that influence brings responsibility for their words and the consequences they cause. She added that the situation had involved extensive public attacks, insults and comments, and said the facts had now been clearly stated.

In February, the Seimas Ethics and Procedures Commission found that Žemaitaitis had breached the Code of Conduct for State Politicians by discussing a possible criminal case against the LRT head. In a November interview with Žinių radijas about the State Audit Office’s LRT audit, he had said that the broadcaster’s head “should face a criminal case” over the reported violations.