Criminal lawyer David Gatt visited the three men who carried out the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia before and after the murder, allegedly on the orders of former Prime Minister’s Joseph Muscat’s chief of staff Keith Schembri, Vince Muscat has told the courts. 

Muscat, who was testifying in the case against George and Alfred Degiorgio after entering a guilty plea for his role in the murder, described the meeting in detail. 

He said that Gatt visited them at the infamous Marsa potato shed out of the blue and gave them a thumbs up. Muscat explained he had asked Alfred Degiorgio what that meant.

“You know who told him. It’s Keith (Schembri) il-Kasco. The thumbs up is a reference to the ‘number one ta’ Malta‘, Keith Schembri,” Degiorgio allegedly told Muscat. 

Muscat told the court that Gatt had visited the potato shed a number of times before the murder. 

On one occasion, Gatt even allegedly told Muscat:

“How long until you get rid of her? She’s the witch of Bidnija.” 

Another time, Gatt allegedly made an explosion-like gesture with his hands and mouth.

Muscat explained that prior to his arrest, Degiorgio told him to tell investigators that Gatt was his lawyer.

“They always told me that we should ask for David Gatt when I get arrested. I told Inspector Zahra that he was my lawyer, even though Arthur Azzopardi was already representing me,” Muscat said. 

Gatt, who is also an associate of Chris Cardona, has been referenced in the case before.

Most notably, he was referenced in the letters published by Lovin Malta detailing Cardona’s involvement in the murder, which were later revealed detailing his involvement in the killing was revealed as having been sent to Yorgen Fenech by Schembri via their mutual doctor.

Meanwhile, state witness Melvin Theuma told a court that Gatt had passed on the message to the Degiorgio brothers, threatening them that they could be killed if they revealed Cardona’s role in the plot.

In 2017, a court had cleared Gatt of any involvement in a string of armed robberies, which included a failed heist on HSBC’s Qormi operations centre. Muscat was also a suspect in the HSBC heist.

Gatt has vehemently denied all links to the case whenever these allegations are published.

He has admitted to being a lawyer for George Degiorgio and told Times of Malta in January 2020 that he only went to the potato shed in Marsa a few times to meet with his client. 

Earlier, Muscat told the courts that Cardona leaked a wealth of information to Alfred Degiorgio. This included the whereabouts of Caruana Galizia in the lead-up to her murder and their imminent arrests.

According to Degiorgio, Cardona would message the high-profile lawyer, who in turn would get the information from then-Assistant Commissioner Silvio Valletta.

The former minister has cropped up throughout the case. State witness Melvin Theuma has detailed a financial relationship between Cardona and Degiorgio, suggesting he used middleman Tony ‘Il-Biglee’ Chetcuti to pass on payment.

More sensationally, Theuma said that Fenech claimed Cardona was so worried about the murder that he ended up hospitalised after an overdose on pills. Meanwhile, it’s also been claimed his relationship with Degiorgio included burner phones, family jobs, and a potential cannabis procurement license.

Meanwhile, Keith Schembri remains under investigation for his role in the murder. Beyond the frame-up letter, Schembri, along with Valletta, allegedly leaked a wealth of information on Muscat’s attempts to get a pardon, information that Fenech and Theuma’s phones were wiretapped, and that Cardona’s number was discovered on the phone of one of Caruana Galizia’s killers.

The case continues on Tuesday 16th March 2021 at 9.30am.

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