On Wednesday at 11 a.m., the Sejm Special Services Committee will convene. During the meeting, members of the body will receive information, among others, from the head of the Internal Security Agency regarding the actions taken by the services toward Włodzimierz Czarzasty, who for years has effectively avoided completing a personal security clearance questionnaire. “This matter must be thoroughly clarified, as we are talking about the second most important person in the state, whose business and social connections raise doubts,” Col. Marek Utracki, former deputy head of the Military Counterintelligence Service, told Gazeta Polska Codziennie.
At the end of January, Gazeta Polska revealed unclear social and business ties between Włodzimierz Czarzasty and individuals linked to the Kremlin, as well as the fact that the leader of The Left has for years successfully avoided completing the security questionnaire and undergoing verification by the services. The matter raises particular concern because the politician sat on the Special Services Committee for nearly two years, where the most sensitive issues concerning state security are discussed.
It is worth noting that during Czarzasty’s time on the committee, the head of the Chancellery of the Sejm was Jacek Cichocki, who previously served as Secretary of the College for Special Services under the Council of Ministers in the first government of Donald Tusk, and in 2011-2013 was responsible for overseeing the services as Minister of the Interior. As head of the Chancellery of the Sejm, he should have been aware which MPs – including members of the Special Services Committee – possessed the required security clearances and should have supervised whether their access to classified information complied with applicable regulations.
Codzienna submitted questions on this matter to the Chancellery of the Sejm. “The plenipotentiary for the protection of classified information, who was certainly employed by Minister Cichocki, should have informed his superior about any irregularities. Therefore, I cannot imagine that he was not informed that an MP sitting on the Special Services Committee was avoiding completion of the personal security questionnaire. It is very puzzling that nothing was done about this for two years,” Col. Marek Utracki, former deputy head of the Military Counterintelligence Service, told GPC. Let us also recall that Cichocki – as revealed by journalist Michał Rachoń and Prof. Sławomir Cenckiewicz – was one of the authors of the reset policy with Russia. In February 2008, when then-Prime Minister Donald Tusk paid a visit to the Kremlin, Jacek Cichocki even signed an agreement with Russia on the mutual protection of classified information.
However, as established by Niezalezna, not only Czarzasty has had a problem undergoing extended verification by the services. The head of his office, Marek Siwiec, has also not had time since November – when he assumed his parliamentary post – to answer the questions in the personal security questionnaire. After the issue was highlighted by TV Republika and Niezalezna on Polsat News, Siwiec admitted on air that he was in the process of completing the document. “I am already around page 24. I am making good progress, although slowly. The matter is on the right track and the application will be submitted soon,” Siwiec assured.
Despite repeated questions from journalists, Czarzasty himself has not made such a declaration. As previously announced, his case will be the subject of the Special Services Committee meeting scheduled for this Wednesday at 11 a.m. The head of the Internal Security Agency is expected to attend and present information on the actions taken by the services toward the leader of The Left (Lewica). As we hear from committee members, there are growing concerns that the ruling coalition may attempt to dilute the issue, as next week’s meeting is also expected to discuss “the rules of counterintelligence protection for the president, the prime minister and the Presidium of the Sejm.” “We were supposed to focus on Czarzasty, and now it turns out we will be dealing with the issue very broadly,” MP Zbigniew Hoffmann of Law and Justice (PiS), a member of the committee, told GPC.
Codzienna also contacted representatives of the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland to inquire about the planned meeting between the head of state, Minister Tomasz Siemoniak and the heads of the services in order to clarify all doubts surrounding the case of Włodzimierz Czarzasty. As we were told, no exact date has yet been set, but its final determination is expected within the coming days.