Overview
- Reuters reported that Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau directed consular officials to have the U.S. embassy in Budapest issue a visa for former Polish justice minister Zbigniew Ziobro, allowing him to leave Hungary before Peter Magyar’s May 9 swearing-in.
- One source told Reuters the visa was a journalist visa and said Landau framed the urgency as a national security matter, though the rationale for that label remains unclear.
- The State Department declined to provide details, citing visa record confidentiality, and Landau did not comment.
- Ziobro faces 26 charges in Poland tied to alleged misuse of the Justice Fund for crime victims, including purchases linked to Pegasus spyware; he denies wrongdoing and says he is being targeted for political reasons.
- After arriving in the United States, Ziobro appeared on TV Republika on May 10 as a commentator, while Poland, which annulled his passport, said it would seek the legal basis for his travel and pursue bringing him before a Polish court.