“I have been summoned to this hearing, I am a citizen of the Polish state, therefore I will appear. Of course, this is about attempting to harass not only TV Republika, but also to send a certain signal to everyone who might want to violate the interests of those in power – especially journalists. We have thick skin, journalists are used to performing their duties. And our duty, as journalists, is to reveal what the authorities are trying to hide, a crypto-dictatorship,” said the station’s programme director, Michał Rachoń, on TV Republika, outside the District Prosecutor’s Office in Ostrołęka.
In June 2025, TV Republika revealed the “Giertych tapes”. In one of the published recordings, attorney Roman Giertych spoke with Leszek Czarnecki, a figure in the GetBack scandal. During the conversation, the businessman said, among other things, that if Law and Justice (PiS) did not win the 2019 parliamentary elections, he would “have no problem suing in Poland”. The recording also captures the two men discussing a meeting at a luxury hotel in Venice, where the cheapest room cost over PLN 10,000 per night.
The disclosure of these conversations did not please Czarnecki. TV Republika president Tomasz Sakiewicz announced in December last year that the businessman had filed a lawsuit against the station. He is demanding money for a foundation he runs with his wife, journalist Jolanta Pieńkowska of TVN. However, this is not the end of the intriguing developments.
“The case is being handled by Ms. Giertych. The reason for this case is that we published his conversation with Roman Giertych. So it is not that we showed something untrue, but that we showed the truth, and the very fact that we showed it is supposed to lead to huge financial claims and numerous apologies,” Sakiewicz said at the time.
Michał Rachoń: I will not share any knowledge
Today, TV Republika programme director Michał Rachoń was summoned for questioning at the District Prosecutor’s Office in Ostrołęka. Before entering the prosecutor’s office, he stated on air:
“The conversations between Roman Giertych and various people he spoke with – including, above all, Leszek Czarnecki – show the nature of the relationships between individuals and how strongly the matters Czarnecki was dealing with at the time were linked to political connections that he in a sense offered and discussed with Roman Giertych. We also learned interesting threads from conversations between Roman Giertych and Donald Tusk. The publication of these recordings caused absolute fury in Poland’s political mainstream. As a result of the filing of a notification – I will find out by whom, although I suspect it was one of the participants in those conversations – an investigation has been launched, in which I will testify today.”
He added:
“I am already announcing and informing that everything we have done in this case is protected by journalistic privilege, so I will not share with the prosecutor any knowledge I have on this matter.”
He continued: “I have been summoned to this hearing, I am a citizen of the Polish state, therefore I will appear. Of course, this is about attempting to harass not only TV Republika, but also to send a certain signal to everyone who might want to violate the interests of those in power – especially journalists. We have thick skin, journalists are used to performing their duties. And our duty, as journalists, is to reveal what the authorities are trying to hide, a crypto-dictatorship. That is what it was called by a judge who was later removed from office.”
He added that this shows that “the crypto-dictatorship uses crypto-dictatorial methods.”
“We, as free people, journalists practising a free profession, will not be intimidated and we will continue doing what we do. We will obtain information, we will disclose it. Just like with the recordings. Even if they do not please Giertych, Czarnecki or Tusk.”
He also addressed TV Republika’s viewers:
“You, our viewers, have TV Republika and us, journalists, so that we can do this. Neither the questions asked by the prosecutor’s office, nor by Waldemar Żurek, nor by Donald Tusk himself, will in any way affect this. We will continue doing what we do.”
He concluded:
“During this questioning I will inform the crypto-dictatorship that everything we have done and are doing in this case is protected by journalistic privilege. I will not share any knowledge on this matter. That is all I can say now.”