Prime Minister Robert Abela has declined to say when he first learned that Chris Cardona had been mentioned to Daphne Caruana Galizia murder investigators. 

Abela instead noted that the man who had made that claim to police, convicted murderer Vince Muscat, would now appear as a witness in that murder case after he pleaded guilty to killing the journalist. 

Muscat told investigators that Cardona was behind a plan hatched in 2015 to kill Caruana Galizia which never came to fruition. Cardona, who at the time was Malta’s economy minister, told Times of Malta that the allegation was “pure evil fiction”. Police are understood to be treating Muscat’s claims with caution.

Caruana Galizia was assassinated in October 2017. 

Cardona was shunted aside politically in January 2020, when Abela rose to power and opted to keep him out of his cabinet. The former minister went on to resign from parliament a few months later and then quit as Labour Party deputy leader in June.  

Asked on Saturday whether he already knew that Cardona was on the police’s radar when he opted to freeze him out of his cabinet, Abela instead noted that police commissioner Angelo Gafa' had so far ruled out political involvement in Caruana Galizia’s murder. 

”The police commissioner has already said that up until today, there is no evidence that ties any politicians with this case.

“I would like to urge everyone to let the police continue their investigations in this case,” he said. "They are delivering great results." 

Abela also noted that Muscat would now be available to answer questions while under oath in the Caruana Galizia case.