Gergely Gulyás, Head of the Prime Minister's Office, said the prime minister has appointed Fidesz MEP András László to investigate American aid agency USAID’s foreign funding programs involving Hungary, calling the case "the biggest corruption scandal in the Western world".
The ruling Fidesz-Christian Democrat parliamentary groups will submit legislative and possibly even constitutional amendment proposals aimed at combatting foreign interference in public affairs "within weeks", Gulyás told a regular government press briefing.
Gulyás said the "USAID affair" linked to the former US Democratic administration and uncovered by US President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, the head of the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, was the "biggest violation of sovereignty and the biggest attempted interference operation" in the Western world.
"Media outlets, journalists, political activists and so-called civil organizations capable of influencing public opinion were bought off," Gulyás said.
The Hungarian government believes the aspects of the case concerning Hungary call for the broadest possible investigation, he said. The prime minister has appointed MEP Laszlo to serve as the government commissioner to gather the evidence in the case concerning Hungary. He will be expected to reach out to American party organisations and compile a report identifying the recipients of USAID funding in Hungary, Gulyás said. The report will also detail how and with what purpose the previous Democratic administration had influenced Hungarian public opinion, he added.
"The practice of using money to influence Hungarian public opinion must be put to an end once and for all," Gulyás said, adding that this was forbidden regardless of whether it came from Russia or the United States.