The District Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw is demanding that TV Republika hand over documents related to a program produced in cooperation with the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN). A bizarre letter, which even requested viewership data, was sent to the station on Tuesday. According to the authorities, the case concerns actions taken by the former head of the IPN, now President of Poland, Karol Nawrocki.

“The hatred toward the president and toward Republika has completely blinded those running this investigation,”
said Tomasz Sakiewicz, president of TV Republika, in an interview with Niezalezna.pl.

The investigation reportedly concerns alleged abuse of power and failure to fulfill official duties by Nawrocki. The prosecutor’s office contacted TV Republika in connection with the program “Republika Historii” (“Republic of History”), which was produced in cooperation with the IPN.

According to the prosecutor’s letter, the matter involves a lease agreement between the IPN’s general director and the company CD Development, allegedly “on terms unfavorable to the tenant due to the method of payment for the service.”

“The letters from the prosecutor’s office clearly suggest that the Institute supposedly overpaid for the production of this program. The viewership of Republika at that time was allegedly too low — at least that’s what one can infer from the document,”
explained editor Michał Rykowski on air when reporting on the issue.

As a result, the prosecutor’s office is demanding information on the audience ratings of “Republika Historii” for the period December 1–7, 2023.

“Hatred has blinded those spinning this investigation”

“The broadcast wasn’t profitable for Republika. It stemmed from our public mission, and most of the production costs were covered by the station itself — the IPN only contributed partially,”
said Tomasz Sakiewicz in his interview with Niezalezna.pl.

He added that

“the IPN’s share of the cost per episode did not exceed a few thousand zlotys.”

In his view,

“Trying to make a scandal out of 20,000 zlotys, when a major television station is producing a highly valuable historical series, is not only proof of the political hostility of the prosecutor’s office but also of the fact that they’re slowly turning into a Monty Python sketch.”

“The hatred toward the president and toward Republika has completely blinded those spinning this investigation. As for what this has to do with the IPN’s lease agreement — I honestly have no idea,”
he concluded.