Accounts are needed, the truth is due to the Poles, but I do not want us in the Sejm to have to deal only with investigative committees – said Marshal Szymon Hołownia during a press conference in the Sejm on Wednesday. He stressed that he did not plan to table additional resolutions to establish new commissions of inquiry in the near future.
Asked whether he expected the Sejm to appoint more investigative committees beyond the existing three, including ones on the so-called envelope elections, Pegasus, and the so-called visa scandal, Hołownia replied that there are so many ideas for committees that even the Marshal of the Sejm does not know them all.
Hołownia noted he had heard Confederation members suggest three more commissions, but told them plainly yesterday that they had already discussed it publicly and had not yet approached him with concrete proposals. He added that none of the bills had been submitted to the Sejm.
He argued that investigative committees should not clog the legislative pipeline. Accounts are needed, Poles deserve the truth, but the Sejm should not be consumed by inquiries alone, he emphasized.
Hołownia explained that the choice to establish three commissions at this moment was driven by pragmatism. Given the lull in draft laws, the Sejm proceeded with the first readings of the three inquiries that had been long discussed and would continue with them, he said.
He stated that he did not fear the work involved in the inquiries and warned about potential friction during the process of appointing committee candidates. He suggested discussing with parliamentary groups how to move this quickly and efficiently.
Hołownia asserted that he would not submit further resolutions on new investigative committees in the near future. He stressed that the key point about inquiries is their inevitability, not their number or size, which should prevent them from turning into a media spectacle.
The aim, he said, is for these commissions to have a limited scope, to resolve matters within a few months, to refer issues to the State Tribunal and the Public Prosecution Service when needed, and most importantly to provide clear information to Poland. He also noted there are troubling questions that have not been explained and must be addressed in due course. Small steps, but effective, inevitable, and decisive, he added.
When asked about the timing of the first committee, he indicated it should begin before the year ends, likely the envelope elections committee.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Sejm had given its first reading to three KO-drafted resolutions proposing investigations into the envelope elections, Pegasus, and the visa scandal. The proposals were then sent to committees for further work.
The Marshal’s remarks
Hołownia described the plan to appoint the Lex Tusk commission as a self-assessment by the Law and Justice team, suggesting it failed to guarantee Poland’s security against Russian influence. During the evening session, the Sejm was set to consider dismissing members of the State Commission tasked with investigating Russian influence on Poland’s internal security for the period 2007-2022. By law, Sejm members appoint and dismiss those charged with running the commission.
During the press conference, Hołownia was asked what fears Donald Tusk might have about the swift move to liquidate the commission on Russian influence. He replied that he must have missed something, as he had not heard of any plan to abolish the commission itself.
When a journalist clarified that the question concerned removing members and that some in the opposition favored abolishing the commission entirely, the marshal pointed out that removing members does not equate to liquidating the commission. He noted that the Sejm is filled with competing voices and that, in his view, the Lex Tusk commission should be evaluated on its work and funding rather than its existence alone.
Hołownia argued that the question is what Poland learned from eight years under Law and Justice, when the state controlled key secret services. If the services did not act, he asked, why would a few historians be expected to change the outcome? The service overhaul, he suggested, must occur quickly so that the Sejm does not rely on ad hoc committees to defend their work, including the Lex Tusk commission, which he described as a self-assessment by the ruling team.
As of the last session in August, a nine-member committee tasked with investigating Russian influence during 2007-2022 had been appointed. All members were nominated by PiS, with the opposition not presenting candidates or participating in the vote. The named individuals included the Director of the Military Historical Bureau, Sławomir Cenckiewicz, adviser to the President Prof. Andrzej Zybertowicz, the President’s Security and Defense Council Chairman Prof. Przemysław Żurawski vel Grajewski, and several other officials.
[citation: wPolityce]
In summary, Hołownia laid out a path where inquiries serve a definitive purpose, not a political stage. He stressed pragmatism, limited mandates, and accountability, asserting that this approach would finally illuminate important questions facing the country while keeping the process practical and transparent.