ONE News Chairman Jason Micallef has confirmed that Jamie Vella – one of the men accused of the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia – is his first cousin but has insisted that he has not seen or spoken to him in many years.

Vella was arrested by the police and charged in court with complicity in the Caruana Galizia assassination as well as the 2015 murder of lawyer Carmel Chircop after Vince Muscat, who is also accused of involvement in both crimes, admitted to the charges against him in a plea bargain with the police.

Micallef’s post comes a day after Caruana Galizia’s son Matthew uploaded a Facebook post asking whether it was the case that the two were related.

“If it’s true that Jason Micallef’s cousins is a hitman, that makes the anti-justice campaign that MIcallef has been running for the past years even more disturbing. It is propaganda literally on behalf of a group of murderers,” Caruana Galizia wrote, referring to Micallef’s frequent and vitriolic attacks against government critics, particularly those who are a part of the movement calling for justice for the late journalist.

Back in 2018, the Dutch town of Leuuwarden, which shared the position of European Capital of Culture with Valletta in 2018, ended up boycotting Malta in protest at Micallef mocking the journalist’s last words.   

Rumours that Vella and Micallef are related have been circulating for the past days. After Caruana Galizia’s post was published yesterday, Lovin Malta made several attempts to contact Micallef and to confirm whether Vella was in fact his cousin but no response was forthcoming.

In a post uploaded today, Micallef confirmed that Vella’s mother and his late father were siblings and that Vella is one of roughly 35 cousins he has, stressing that, as is the case with many Maltese families, he was not in contact with many of his cousins, including Vella.

He accused Caruana Gaizia of a “disgusting attack” against him, and journalists who attempted to contact him to get his side of the story before publishing, of trying to tarnish his reputation, likening them to the assassins who destroy people who disagree with them.

Micallef also referred to a case in which the brother of Nationalist MP and Caruana Galizia family lawyer Therese Comodini Cachia had been arrested over a botched car bomb attempt back in 2018. He said that if “delinquents and their ilk” was what Caruana Galizia wanted, than he needn’t look further than his own lawyer.

Upon finding out about the relation, the press contacted Comodini Cachia for comment, owing to the fact that she is a public figure. She too said that she had not spoken with her brother in many years, but unlike Micallef, she did not lash out at the media and made no attempt to discredit journalists asking the questions they are meant to ask.

In fact, in 2018, at the time of the incident Micallef referred to, Comodini Cachia had been contacted for comment by journalists. She later uploaded a post saying that she had been contacted for comment and explaining that she had not spoken to her brother in a number of years, however unlike Micallef she refrained from lashing out against the media for asking questions they were duty-bound to ask. Her brother was eventually released and wasn’t charged in court.

Full English Translation of Micallef’s post:

“Yesterday Matthew Caruana Galizia made a statement that I am reproducing hereunder. Matthew Caruana Galizia’s statement was only was made with malicious intentions against me. Shortly afterwards, his disciples (bootlickers) from across the country’s so-called independent newsrooms, among them the bunch of amateurs at Lovin Malta, engaged in a frenzy of incessant telephone calls and messages, asking me whether it was true that Jamie Vella, one of the men accused of assassinating Daphne Caruana Galizia, is my cousin.

“Jamie Vella’s mother and my late father are siblings. This makes Jamie Vella one of roughly 35 cousins I have, since we are a very big family. I haven’t seen or spoken to Jamie Vella in years, as is the case with many of my cousins and as happens in the majority of Maltese families.

“There are two types of assassins in the world: Daphne Caruana Galizia’s killers, whom I resent and condemn with all my might. Then there are other assassins, who excel at assassinating a person’s character with their writing.

“Matthew Caruana Galizia has inherited this quality and is one of them. Similarly, it has been inherited by other vile bloggers who spread hate and stories about this person and that, with the aim of putting people down simply because they disagree with them.

“Matthew Caruana Galizia’s disgusting attack against me is only intended to tarnish me with things more revolting than his writing. To find delinquents and their ilk, Matthew Caruana Galizia need not look too far. Below I am reproducing court cases wherein the named or accused, in very serious cases, is the lawyer of the Caruana Galizia family if you please!!

“My personal integrity is very dear to me and known by all, including those who don’t agree with me on a political level. No Caruana Galizia has the slightest chance of tarnishing it. I reserve the right to take legal action.”

What do you make of this latest development?