Washington helped wanted Polish ex-minister flee to US – Reuters
A senior official from the administration of US President Donald Trump personally intervened to help former Polish Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro, wanted by Warsaw on criminal charges, flee to the US, Reuters has reported.
US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau instructed senior US State Department officials to facilitate and approve a visa for Ziobro, the outlet wrote on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Landau reportedly learned of Ziobro’s case earlier this year from US ambassador to Warsaw Tom Rose and believed the ex-minister was being unjustly prosecuted. Landau reportedly described the matter as “a national security issue,” Reuters added.
Granting a visa to a politician facing criminal charges in a US-allied country is “highly unusual,” the outlet noted. Poland’s current Justice Minister Waldemar Zurek expressed surprise at the report on Tuesday, saying that Warsaw expected its American allies to discuss such a matter. He insisted that Warsaw will “do everything” to bring Ziobro to justice in Poland.
Ziobro faces multiple criminal charges tied to alleged abuse of power while in office. Prosecutors accuse him of leading a criminal group that diverted public money to purchase Israeli-made Pegasus spyware, which was allegedly used to surveil political opponents and journalists. Ziobro could face up to 25 years in prison if convicted.
Ziobro, a member of parliament from the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party, has argued that the inquiry is illegal. PiS ruled Poland from 2015 to late 2023, when the coalition of Prime Minister Donald Tusk took over. The new government has launched multiple inquiries into its predecessor’s alleged misdeeds.
Poland issued an arrest warrant for Ziobro last November while he was in Budapest. The politician remained in Hungary after then-Prime Minister Viktor Orban granted him political asylum.
Following his election victory in April, Hungary’s new prime minister, Peter Magyar, pledged to extradite Ziobro to Poland upon taking office. On the day of Magyar’s inauguration, Ziobro flew from Milan to New Jersey, according to Polish media reports.
The Trump administration has said conservative politicians in the EU are often targeted by “lawfare,” a term used to describe what is seen as unjust weaponization of the judicial system against them.
