Prosecutors close two threads in Polish 'coup' probe, finding no crime in mandate revocations or swearing-in pressure
Warsaw prosecutors have discontinued two strands of the politically charged 'coup d'état' investigation, ruling there is no evidence of a crime in Szymon Hołownia's revocation of two opposition MPs' mandates or in alleged pressure to delay the presidential swearing-in.
The Warsaw Regional Prosecutor's Office announced on 30 June 2026 that it had closed two threads of the investigation widely referred to as the 'coup d'état' case. The decision, dated 25 June, covers the expiry of parliamentary mandates for Law and Justice (PiS) politicians Mariusz Kamiński and Maciej Wąsik, and the allegation that then Speaker of the Sejm Szymon Hołownia was incited to refuse to swear in President-elect Karol Nawrocki.
Origins of the investigation
The probe was launched after a notification by Constitutional Tribunal president Bogdan Święczkowski, who pointed to possible crimes by state institutions, including Prime Minister Donald Tusk, the speakers of both chambers, and selected judges and prosecutors. In February 2025, the Warsaw Regional Prosecutor's Office took over the case initiated by Deputy Prosecutor General Michał Ostrowski.
The mandate expiry thread
The first closed thread concerned Hołownia's December 2023 decision to declare the parliamentary mandates of Kamiński and Wąsik expired, one day after a Warsaw court sentenced both men to two years in prison for abuse of power in a 2007 land scandal. Hołownia also barred them from Sejm sessions until June 2024, including an incident on 7 February 2024 when the two tried to enter the parliament building with other MPs but were stopped by the Marshal's Guard.
Prosecutors stressed that the speaker had no authority to assess whether the court could issue a conviction despite a 2015 presidential pardon. As a body of executive power, the speaker was obliged to comply with the final judgment and, under the Electoral Code, issue the mandate-expiry decision.
The prosecutor indicated that it was not within the competence of the Speaker of the Sejm to assess whether the District Court in Warsaw had the right to issue a conviction against the two MPs, despite the application of the presidential pardon in 2015 — before the final conclusion of the criminal proceedings.
The office also examined the 7 February 2024 incident and found that the Marshal's Guard had legal grounds to block entry because the former MPs lacked valid credentials and refused one-time passes.
The alleged 'coup incitement' thread
The second thread involved claims that Hołownia was urged not to convene the National Assembly or swear in Nawrocki, allowing the speaker to temporarily assume the role of head of state and adopt a so-called 'package of laws'. In a July 2025 television interview Hołownia had said he was being 'incited to a coup d'état'.
During his testimony, however, Hołownia stated that no one had directly made such proposals, suggestions, or exerted pressure on him. His words referred to media scenarios and public debate, not to conversations with politicians or state officials.
The prosecutor found that no one had made such proposals, suggestions, or indeed pressure, directly to the marshal, and his words from the television interview referred exclusively to media statements by other people suggesting various political scenarios.
Hołownia also testified that coalition leaders, including Prime Minister Tusk, were opposed to the scenarios circulating in public and considered them unconstitutional. The prosecutor determined that media statements fell within the limits of political debate and bore no hallmarks of a criminal offence.
- Warsaw District Court convicts Kamiński and Wąsik to two years in prison.
- Speaker Hołownia issues decision expiring their parliamentary mandates.
- Supreme Court labour chamber upholds the mandate expiration ruling.
- Kamiński and Wąsik attempt to enter the Sejm building; blocked by Marshal's Guard.
- Warsaw Regional Prosecutor's Office takes over the investigation.
- Hołownia says in a TV interview he was 'incited to a coup d'état'.
- Prosecutor's office closes the two threads.
- Closure of the threads announced publicly.
What remains open
Not all parts of the sprawling investigation have been resolved. Earlier threads had already been dropped for lack of criminal elements, and prosecutors continue to analyse other reported episodes described in Święczkowski's original notification. The investigation still covers actions by multiple state institutions during the intense political disputes of late 2023 and early 2024.
