{"id":12576,"date":"2026-10-21T09:00:44","date_gmt":"2026-10-21T09:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/?p=12576"},"modified":"2026-10-21T09:00:44","modified_gmt":"2026-10-21T09:00:44","slug":"romanian-intelligence-service-faces-backlash-after-rare-response-to-theory-linking-it-to-psd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/?p=12576","title":{"rendered":"Romanian intelligence service faces backlash after rare response to theory linking it to PSD"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Tuesday evening, October 20, the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI) issued a rare press release<\/a> rejecting a theory posed by former presidential adviser Ludovic Orban. According to the politician, SRI had brokered a deal that would have the Social Democratic Party (PSD) back sitting president Nicu\u0219or Dan for a second mandate during the next presidential elections.<\/p>\n

Orban explained his theory that the Social Democrats would support Dan in the next presidential election, and in return, they would receive the government. SRI and the Protection and Guard Service (SPP) would have vouched for the Social Democrats, supposedly guaranteeing that the \u201cparty was in it for the long haul.\u201d<\/p>\n

Orban\u2019s statements were made during an interview for the Romanian state TV station TVR. The former presidential adviser also said that SRI chief General R\u0103zvan Ionescu was unknown and that he \u201cruns the SRI on the sly,\u201d according to G4Media<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Shortly after the show ended, the SRI posted a rare response on the institution\u2019s Facebook page.<\/p>\n

\u201cFollowing the statements made by Mr. Ludovic Orban on public television on October 20, the SRI considers the repeated public dissemination of unfounded accusations, attributing political involvement to the institution without any evidence, to be regrettable and irresponsible,\u201d the agency said.<\/p>\n

SRI also noted that \u201cthe political failure or success of certain political formations or individuals\u201d has been routinely attributed to it without merit.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs regards the interim leadership of the SRI, it is neither secret nor outside the law. And certainly not \u2018on the sly.\u2019 The identity of the person serving as interim head is public, and the legality of exercising the position is not a matter of opinion, but is in accordance with the law,\u201d the institution noted.<\/p>\n

After numerous comments criticizing the service and the response, SRI limited who could comment on the post.<\/p>\n

The SRI has been under the interim leadership of General R\u0103zvan Ionescu since July 2023. At a press conference on July 30, 2025, president Nicu\u0219or Dan said he would appoint heads of the intelligence services \u201cafter a discussion with the parties, in the coming weeks.\u201d The president has yet to do so.<\/p>\n

Reacting to the SRI press release, Liberal MP Alexandru Muraru said on Wednesday, October 21, that the statements made by the agency were \u201ca serious mistake and an unforgivable institutional outburst, almost without precedent.\u201d<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/muraru2020\/posts\/pfbid02CSypB4KcuC43hdy42gzyAT32FNbDAdpdy6U6afqdZRWbmEE6TUxV9n7qC2S4sbJhl?locale=ro_RO<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cSuch a reaction risks harming both the person targeted, the credibility of the Service, the reputation of the professionals working at this institution and, above all, public trust in the political neutrality of intelligence services (…) The SRI\u2019s mission is not to engage in public battles with one politician or another, to issue certificates of political responsibility, or to sanction the rhetoric of former or current officials. Its mission is to defend Romania\u2019s national security, the state, and its citizens,\u201d Muraru stated.<\/p>\n

C\u0103t\u0103lin Drul\u0103, an MP from the reformist Save Romania Union (USR), also strongly criticized the SRI\u2019s statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe barely veiled threats in the message reveal the anti-democratic reflexes of those running this institution. If our country had a leader who valued freedom of expression, pluralism, and the values of liberal democracy, tomorrow he should fire General Ionescu for this act of intimidation, worthy of illiberal regimes,\u201d Drul\u0103 wrote on Facebook<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Tuesday evening, October 20, the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI) issued a rare press release rejecting a theory posed by former presidential adviser Ludovic Orban. According to the politician, SRI had brokered a deal that would have the Social Democratic Party (PSD) back sitting president Nicu\u0219or Dan for a second mandate during the next presidential […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12576","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12576","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12576"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12576\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12576"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12576"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12576"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}