Manuel Adorni is mired in a corruption scandal but has denied wrongdoing. Javier Milei has defended Adorni, saying, “Manuel is innocent.”
Argentinian President Jaiver Milei’s cabinet chief and close ally, Manuel Adorni, announced his resignation on Saturday, following a corruption scandal that has undermined the government’s pledge to weed out graft.
“For the first time since December 10, 2023, I am going against your wishes,” Adorni wrote in his resignation letter to Milei that he posted to social media, referring to the date that Milei entered office.
“Thank you for always trusting me and thank you for supporting me through this unjust, painful and exhausting process for my family and me.”
The 46-year-old is embroiled in a scandal over his big-spending lifestyle, including lavish family holidays and property purchases that far exceed his official earnings.
For weeks, Adorni maintained he had not committed any crime. However, under mounting pressure, Adorni admitted two weeks ago to hiding $500,000 in savings from tax authorities.
He has continued to deny wrongdoing and has maintained that the money from savings and investments was made years before he entered public service.
Milei’s anti-corruption campaign in jeopardy
In 2023, Adorni became the face of Milei’s anti-corruption drive as his presidential spokesperson. Now, the corruption allegations against Adorni havedealt a blow to the libertarian president’s campaign.
Investigators are probing illicit enrichment stemming from alleged excesses of the sort that Milei and Adorni himself regularly criticized Argentina’s left-leaning populist opposition.
Milei, however, has extended unwavering support for Adorni and defended him even as the scandal damaged his government’s public image.
“Manuel is innocent,” Milei told local media in Spain during his visit there last week. “I stand by my ministers to the bitter end.”
Edited by: Zac Crellin
DW News
