PARIS — Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy is being ordered to stand trial on charges of corruption and influence peddling, in yet another humbling knockdown to the hard-charging conservative leader.<\/p>\n
Sarkozy has faced multiple corruption investigations since leaving office in 2012. He was handed preliminary charges just last week in the most shocking affair: accusations that he took millions in illegal campaign financing from then-Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi.<\/p>\n
In a separate case, a judicial official said Thursday that Sarkozy was ordered to stand trial on accusations that he tried to illegally obtain information from a magistrate about an yet another investigation involving Sarkozy.<\/p>\n
The former president, 63, can appeal the order, and no potential trial date has been set. He has denied wrongdoing.<\/p>\n
Sarkozy’s lawyer, Thierry Herzog, is also being ordered to stand trial, along with former magistrate Gilbert Azibert. Sarkozy and Herzog did not respond to requests for comment Thursday.<\/p>\n
Sarkozy has objected to the case because part of the investigation is based on information gleaned from tapped phone conversations between him and his lawyer.<\/p>\n
Sarkozy and Herzog are suspected of promising the magistrate a job in Monaco in exchange for leaking information about an investigation into suspected illegal financing of Sarkozy’s 2007 presidential campaign by France’s richest woman, L’Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt.<\/p>\n
Thursday’s announcement marks the second time so far in which Sarkozy has been sent to trial.<\/p>\n
Last year, a judge ordered a trial for Sarkozy and 13 others on charges of illegal financing of his 2012 presidential campaign. In that case, his conservative party and a company named Bygmalion are accused of using a special invoice system to conceal unauthorized overspending.<\/p>\n
Sarkozy appealed that order to stand trial, and a decision on his appeal is pending.<\/p>\n
The Gadhafi investigation, meanwhile, is ongoing.<\/p>\n
Sarkozy has said he’s been unfairly targeted by investigators for political reasons.<\/p>\n
Sarkozy failed to win his party’s primary for the 2017 presidential election and has largely stayed out of politics since then.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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