The committee adopted this decision by consensus.
By the procedure laid down by law, members of parliament are required to declare any lobbying activities directed at them if they take appropriate action after becoming aware of them.
In addition, the Seimas Ethics Guardians recognised that, in planning his trip to the United States, Žemaitaitis had violated the Code of Conduct for State Officials twice.
In the Commission's view, by failing to provide the Seimas Board with accurate and comprehensive information about the costs of his planned trip to the US and deliberately concealing the fact that the inviting organisation would cover the expenses, the Nemuno Aušra member disregarded the principles of honesty, transparency, and publicity.
The ethics watchdogs also found that by providing information on national security issues to an anonymous person who identified himself as a DOGE employee, Žemaitaitis violated the principles of respect for the individual and the state enshrined in the code of conduct for politicians.
In the Commission's opinion, by accepting a paid trip and theatre tickets but not declaring them, Žemaitaitis did not violate the Law on Public and Private Interests, as he did not receive these gifts as a result of any action on his part.
In his letters to the anonymous person, Žemaitaitis, who criticised President Gitanas Nausėda, justified himself to the ethics watchdogs by saying that such statements were not related to loyalty to the state.
„Criticism of President Gitanas Nausėda is legitimate and is my right as a member of the Seimas, as it was expressed by my convictions and political responsibility, and not to harm the interests of Lithuania. Loyalty to the Lithuanian state is not related to public statements of this nature, and I have always adhered to the Constitution and the oath I took as a member of the Seimas. In Lithuania, as a democratic country, politicians have the right to criticise state institutions and their activities, when necessary,“ Žemaitaitis stated in his response to the commission.
As previously announced, in April last year, the Constitutional Court (KT) ruled that the leader of Nemuno Aušra party had violated the Constitution and broken his oath as a member of the Seimas due to anti-Semitic statements posted on social media.
ELTA recalls that in March, Žemaitaitis, the leader of Nemuno Aušra, who had planned a working trip and meetings with representatives of the US administration, reported that he had been deceived – the plane tickets to New York were not provided by the Government Efficiency Department (DOGE) representative who had introduced himself as such. Žemaitaitis, who had been planning a working trip and meetings with representatives of the US administration in March, announced that he had been deceived – the plane tickets to New York he had received from a person claiming to be a representative of the Government Efficiency Department (DOGE) were fake.
Later, public figure Andrius Tapinas reported that the member of the Seimas had been deceived by an anonymous person claiming to be a Washington official. The latter shared his correspondence with Žemaitaitis on Laisvės TV, in which Nemuno Aušra member harshly criticises President Gitanas Nausėda and raises doubts about the US Embassy in Lithuania.
In addition, the politician presented this alleged trip to the Seimas Board as a personal one, even though it was to be paid for by representatives of the US DOGE – according to the correspondence, the cost of such a visit would amount to approximately EUR 30,000.
On this basis, representatives of the opposition Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats (TS-LKD) faction in parliament considered initiating impeachment proceedings against Žemaitaitis. A similar proposal was submitted to the Seimas Ethics and Procedures Committee by Tomas Vytautas Raskvevičius, Chairman of the Freedom Party.
The Seimas Board also requested that the parliamentary ethics watchdog investigate this matter.
The Special Investigation Service (STT) is investigating this matter.