Asked why the president was “firing at him", Teodor Melescanu said it was "a conflict, a battle between Traian Basescu and Victor Ponta" and that he was " a collateral victim". "That I am a collateral victim, I am used to it . Unfortunately SIE is also a casualty and the service does not deserve this that despite all its efforts and the activity carried out, that it should become such a victim", Meleşcanu said, adding that it was not his problem "to solve the interpretation of bills, if they were adopted and how they were adopted."
Former Director of SIE pointed out that he was "forced" to follow the law as it was, which is why he could not provide the names of the covered officers.
Meleşcanu admitted instead that the SIE law needed to be updated, adding that one of his priorities, if he became president would be to "bring back in the attention the package of laws on national security". "We really need to adapt this legislation, which dates from the 90's, '98 for SIE, to be precise, updated to the realities of today," he said.
Regarding the fact that Traian Basescu said on Wednesday that he had not requested a list of the covered officers, but only if such persons existed in the Government Meleşcanu replied: " Don’t you think it is the same thing ?It is a pun. When you inquire if there are, it means that you assume the fact that there are undercover officers in the Government, which for us was not legally possible to assume”.
Inquired for which reason the president accused him of trying to protect Victor Ponta, Meleşcanu said that he did not cover for him because he had not information on whether " Ponta was or not an undercover officers of SIE."
"From my point of view I could not be complotting. It is absurd, I could not be complotting to cover Victor Ponta given that I have no evidence that he was or was not an undercover officer. So how can I plot something about which I do not know officially in terms of my professional obligations. The only covered officers ones that I know are those who were made officers while I was director ", Meleşcanu said.
He said that if the President wants clarifications, he "can ask it from his predecessors" , meaning "from Mr. Razvan Ungureanu, from Mr. Fulga, from Mr. Harnagea, a period I think it was also Mr. Săftoiu, a period was Mr. Talpeş ".
"I'm no longer the head of the Service now. So I do not understand why I am being targeted. If they want some information, they can ask for it, the Service has an interim director, they can ask it form its predecessor , from anyone. But why from me, I have no business with this service anymore? ", wondered Meleşcanu.
He pointed out that during his term in the office of two years and seven months three undercover officers were made and the Service did not recruit "any prosecutors from the Romanian system, nor any MPs, or journalists."
However, Meleşcanu declined to confirm how many people work in SIE, when the moderator said 3,000. "Unfortunately the number of people working in the SIE cannot be told. I can only say this: when you said 3000, you were being optimistic ", the former head of the Service said.