In reply to a question by a Socialist deputy, Orbán insisted the issue could be clearly settled in the law courts “without all the nonsense lacking evidence. … Unless she initiates a lawsuit immediately I will withdraw her.” Orbán also called on the US diplomat “not to hide behind his diplomatic immunity”.

Concerning Goodfriend, Orbán said that the diplomat should “stand up, be a man, and take responsibility for what he has claimed.”

Antal Rogán, group leader of the ruling Fidesz party, told MTI that he saw a legal possibility for Goodfriend to support his claims in court.

He insisted that the government of the US could lift the immunity of its diplomat, and then Goodfriend could appear before a Hungarian court.

The diplomat could even do so without having to face any legal consequences, Rogán said. “We only want to see a procedure in Hungary in which it is decided whether the US embassy or Vida is right,” Rogán argued.

He added that in a similar situation the Hungarian government would certainly give its consent to a Hungarian diplomat’s proving their case in a foreign country.

Source www.hungarymatters.hu

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MTI photo: Kovács Tamás