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2 NEWS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 28 MAY 2025 2 THE trial by jury of the four individu- als charged with the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia and Carmel Chircop continued on Tuesday as the defence tried to poke holes in Vince Muscat's testimony. Defence lawyer Leslie Cuschieri, rep- resenting George Degiorgio dismantled the police's investigative strategy. "The police became obsessed with the Toyota Ractis vehicle," he said, claiming that this led them to ignore other plau- sible leads. He pointed out that medi- cal experts concluded the shots were fired from just two metres away, yet the shooter allegedly missed two shots. "How do you miss in that situation?" he asked, suggesting that the killer may not have been inside a car at all, but rather standing or walking nearby. Cuschieri also questioned why the po- lice failed to follow up on sightings of other individuals near the scene, such as a man seen walking his dog and anoth- er man dressed in white. "These people were never questioned. Why?" he asked. "If you remove 'San Vince' from the pic- ture, there's nothing left linking George Degiorgio to this murder." Muscat was 'San Vince' to Arnaud, Cuschieri sar- castically implied as he based all evi- dence on statements from him. Lawyer Ismael Psaila then turned to Jamie Vella's defence and continued attacking Muscat's crucial testimo- ny. Psaila highlighted how Jamie Vella himself had referred to Muscat as "so- ciety's scumbag" and noted Muscat's courtroom behaviour. The jurors were reminded that Muscat took very long pauses before answering and had asked for access to previous transcripts before testifying. "This is who the country gave a presidential pardon to", Ismael said. Psaila also questioned Muscat's claim of fear, contrasting it with Melvin Theuma's precautions such as record- ing conversations and saving messages. He mocked Muscat as a supposed vic- tim, recalling how he claimed to have accepted €20,000 in 2015 to merely ride as a passenger. He reminded the jurors that Muscat continued to frequent the Marsa potato shed with the men he feared so great- ly. "To your eyes, does this constitute fear?" Psaila asked the jury. "We should be afraid of you, Mr Muscat." Psaila questioned Muscat's selective memory, pointing out that he named Jamie Vella only when it suited him and conveniently forgot details when it didn't. He concluded by stressing that Muscat's story lacked any corroborat- ing evidence against Jamie Vella. The accused are 'Ta' Maksar' brothers, Robert and Adrian Agius, Jamie Vella and George Degiorgio. Vella and Robert Agius, Adrian's younger brother – are accused of complicity in the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia by supplying the bomb that killed the journalist in October 2017. Adrian Agius is charged with commis- sioning the murder of lawyer Carmel Chircop in 2015. Defence lawyer Nicholas Mifsud is appearing for Adrian Agius, Ishmael Psaila and Amadeus Cachia for Jamie Vella, Alfred Abela and Rene Darmanin representing Robert Agius, and Noel Bianco and Leslie Cuschieri for George Degiorgio. Jason Azzopardi and Therese Comod- ini Cachia are assisting the Caruana Galizia family, while Vince Galea is as- sisting the Chircop family. Maksar gang trial: defence poke holes in Vince Muscat's testimony Vince Muscat known as il-Kohhu CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 After the heist, Camilleri had offered his resignation to the prime minister, but the latter turned it down. However, Robert Abela is now expected to acquiesce to Camilleri's wishes with sources close to the Labour Party indi- cating that he may be handed the tour- ism portfolio. The tourism portfolio was handed to Deputy Prime Minister Ian Borg after former minister Clayton Bartolo re- signed last year, in the wake of an ethics breach involving his wife. Camilleri's move is expected to kick start a chain reaction of ministerial port- folio changes. Owen Bonnici could be shifted to home affairs Culture Minister Owen Bonnici is being touted as Camilleri's replacement at the Home Affairs Ministry. Bonnici is cur- rently in the cross-hairs of PL diehards over a €25,000 contract awarded to blog- ger Mark Camilleri by the Arts Council. However, on Monday, the prime min- ister praised Bonnici and insisted he is happy with his performance, and ex- pressed full trust in him. Abela went on to say he would be backing Bonnici "with greater force". Sources interpreted this comment as a signal that Bonnici could be handed a more prominent portfolio by the prime minister, with a possibility of replacing Byron Camilleri. It is unclear who will be appointed culture minister if Bonnici is shifted elsewhere but the prime minister could either choose to make his sister-in-law, Alison Zerafa Civelli, a minister—she is currently parliamentary secretary re- sponsible for local government under Bonnici's portfolio—or opt for someone else. Sources have said Labour MP Rosianne Cutajar has been gunning for a cabinet post ever since she returned back to the Labour fold in August last year. Cutajar had spent two years in the wil- derness in the previous legislature after it emerged that she acted as a broker in a property sale involving murder suspect Yorgen Fenech. She was re-elected to parliament in the 2022 general election but was left out of cabinet. Cutajar was forced to resign from the parliamentary group when a cache of WhatsApp chats between her and Yor- gen Fenech were published in which she admitted taking on a job at ITS because "everyone else was pigging out". None- theless, after the European Parliament election the PL executive reinstated Cutajar in the parliamentary group. But others, such as parliamentary secre- taries Andy Ellul and Rebecca Buttigieg, could also be considered for ministerial posts. Prime Minister mulls over cabinet change Home affairs minister Byron Camilleri (Photo: James Bianchi)