(Bloomberg) — Poland’s parliament will investigate the alleged use of Pegasus spyware by former ruling nationalists, opening a new front in a clash between the country’s main political factions.
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Lawmakers on Friday approved the selection of members of the commission, the latest probe into the activities of the Law & Justice-led government, which was voted out of office last year.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk has long accused the former ruling party officials of placing then-opposition lawmakers under surveillance with the spyware.
“This commission will show who was under surveillance and why such a sensitive and specific system was used for political struggle, to fight political competition, to destroy opponents,” Magdalena Sroka, a lawmaker and the chair of the commission, told reporters in parliament.
The probe is likely to further stoke tensions between Tusk’s government and President Andrzej Duda, a Law & Justice ally. Two former nationalist lawmakers who were imprisoned this month before being pardoned by Duda are implicated in the Pegasus imbroglio.
Mariusz Kaminski, a former interior minister, and Maciej Wasik, his one-time aide, will be called to testify in front of the commission, Sroka said. They have said previously that all of the clandestine operations carried out by security services under their watch were legal.
Law & Justice’s leadership confirmed the purchase of Pegasus software, though said it was deployed against national security threats and organized crime. The probe will look into how the spyware was deployed by the government, police and secret services.
Since securing a majority in the October election, Tusk’s alliance has vowed to hold their nationalist predecessors to account. The premier has confronted fierce resistance to efforts to dismantle eight years of nationalist rule by the Law & Justice since taking office last month.
Two other probes will look into accusations of mishandling visas and pandemic-era mail-in ballots during the 2020 presidential election.
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