Scandal at the History Institute of the Party / Scandal la Institutul de Istorie a Partidului

In 1972 the History Institute of the Romanian Communist Party, founded în 1961 and led from 1961 until 1989 by Ion Popescu Puţuri, was subjected to a detailed examination of its activity. A report was then presented to the Executive Committee of the Communist Party which, in the presence of Ion Popescu-Puţuri and of other researchers working at the Institute, debated the accusations brought against the director and his adjunct, Augustin Deac: plagiarism, attributing to themselves other author's works, wasting the Institute's money on personal affairs, such as traveling abroad. Puţuri denied the accusations as being unfounded and sustained his innocence in front of the Committee's members and Nicolae Ceauşescu, the leader of the Communist Party. In the end, no measures were taken against him.