EU Parliament launches probe into fake email seeking to sway internal election

STRASBOURG — The European Parliament is launching an internal investigation into a bogus email ostensibly written by a senior European People’s Party lawmaker, apparently attempting to derail a colleague’s bid for a top group post. Andrzej Halicki said the email, received by POLITICO on Thursday , was not written by him and requested that the Parliament ask Belgian authorities to investigate, arguing he is a victim of “shameful allegations based on fake e-mails.” A spokesperson for the Parliament said, “Our services have confirmed that it is not an authentic email. We are in contact with the member concerned to see how this can be best investigated and prevent any further cases like this.