Boris Johnson lied to Parliament about COVID 'Partygate' scandals, report finds

LONDON − Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson deliberately misled Parliament over what he knew about alcohol-fueled parties and gatherings at his Downing Street office and residence in central London when COVID-19 infections were skyrocketing and the country was under a strict lockdown.

That's the conclusion of a long-awaited 30,000-word report published Thursday by seven lawmakers from the House of Commons' so-called privileges committee, which investigates suspected parliamentary wrongdoing.

The scathing report said Johnson's "conduct was deliberate," that he committed "a serious contempt of the House" and did so on an issue of "greatest importance to the House and to the public, and did so repeatedly."

The report also found that Johnson was complicit in a "campaign of abuse and attempted intimidation of the committee" and that his behavior effectively amounted to an "attack on our democratic institutions" − damning accusations that will be difficult to shake off even for a seasoned and gifted political maverick whose commitment to the art of the comeback is often compared to that of another former world leader, Donald Trump.

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"It is completely unprecedented for a former prime minister to be found to have been a law-breaker and serial liar," Liberal Democrat opposition lawmaker Daisy Cooper said in a statement.

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The inquiry into Johnson's behavior is highly critical but has no legal consequences. If he were still a lawmaker, he could have faced a 90-day suspension. But he's not, so it's academic, though lawmakers will vote Monday on whether to endorse the report's findings and sanctions. Johnson resigned ahead of the report's release, claiming there was a “witch hunt under way, to take revenge for Brexit and ultimately to reverse the 2016 referendum result,” references to Britain's controversial vote to leave the European Union, which he backed.

In a statement Thursday, Johnson said that the report "twisted the truth" and that its findings were the "final knife-thrust in a protracted political assassination − that is beyond contempt."

A separate public inquiry into how Johnson's government responded to the pandemic, complete with emotional impact statements from witnesses, is expected to continue for the next six weeks. At the height of the pandemic, Britain had one of the world's highest COVID-19 death rates, according to Our World in Data. Johnson pursued policies that relaxed restrictions far earlier than many other European countries did.

Johnson has not been barred from running for reelection as a lawmaker. He may not need a job straight away: The British press has reported he has made millions of dollars in speaking fees since leaving office last year.

World leaders facing court cases, charges, hearings

Still, Johnson isn't the only world leader, former or current, who has been in the hot seat in the form of being the subject of a court case, hearing or legal inquiry of one kind or another.

Former President Donald Trump faces many legal challenges.

He was indicted on June 14 by the Department of Justice over the potential mishandling of classified documents. He pleaded not guilty to the charges against him − all 37 of them. Trump was also indicted in March on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, including paying "hush money" to a former adult film star, Stormy Daniels. He pleaded not guilty to all those charges. He is being investigated in a separate federal case involving his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol and an inquiry in Georgia into efforts to overturn the 2020 election in that state.

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Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu has been marred by allegations of corruption for years. In 2019 he was indicted on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of public trust, and his trial is ongoing.

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Other world leaders who have been charged or imprisoned include:

• Former South Korean President Park Geun-hye; allegations of corruption and influence peddling.

• Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, Argentina's former leader; corruption allegations and claims of treason, later dropped, over allegedly covering up Iran's role in the bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires.

• Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy; suspected bribery and corruption.

Well-known American political faces also flouted, like Johnson, COVID-19 rules:

• California Gov. Gavin Newsom went to a dinner with his wife at the upscale French Laundry restaurant in the Napa Valley when coronavirus infections were spiking in his state and authorities had asked residents to be extra vigilant and avoid unnecessary gatherings. Newsom later called the decision a “bad mistake.”

• Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi got her hair styled in a San Francisco hair salon without a face mask, a violation of the city’s COVID-19 regulations at the time. Pelosi claimed she was "set up."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Partygate': Boris Johnson misled Parliament about COVID parties