Our affairs are going backwards and backwards. Hybrid warfare is when they try to make everything filthy, drag everything through the mud. They tell the people that they are worth nothing, they should be incapable, talentless, with a slave mentality, - this is what the former President of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, said during a video address in a court session.

He also spoke about the case of embezzling large amounts of budget funds and noted that during his presidency, the President's salary was between 3000 and 4000 lari, and with that money, "he couldn't have hosted Trump or Hillary Clinton" – and all of it was the presidential office's expenses.

“We clearly understand what case is being heard here today. Today, we are hearing a case that is part of that Russian hybrid war that, in 2012, removed the patriotic government from power in Georgia and brought in Russia's direct agents. It is as clear as day to everyone now, everyone knows well that since then, our affairs have been going backwards. Hybrid warfare means making everything filthy, dragging everything through the mud. They tell the people that they are worth nothing, incapable, talentless, and that they should have a slave mentality. Everything that happened back then was not the great successes that the world recognized. We were the beacon of democracy; these are not my words, but the words of the President of the United States. We brought three US presidents to Georgia, along with many other world leaders. We were a model for the entire world, carried in the palm of our hands. They want to make us forget that and replace our memory chip with all sorts of nonsense. We must understand that hybrid warfare is not new. I clearly remember when President Gamsakhurdia was accused of buying ‘Mercedes’ cars, and having lions and tigers in cages. That was also the Russian signature, the same people, Khundadze was their propagandist, and he still is. They have added and escalated.

Why did today's case start? In 2015, when they asked Garibashvili about the case opened against me, he said, ‘Well, if it doesn't stop, what can we do?’ This case directly coincided with my appointment as an advisor to the President of Ukraine.

In 2021, when I returned to Georgia, Garibashvili said, ‘If it doesn’t stop, we’ll add more.’ This is exactly what is happening. I continue to fight, and the Georgian people continue to fight. They want to scare us, push us against the wall, take away our hope for the future.

If you're interested in the case, it concerns the fact that the President's office had expenses. The salary of the President of Georgia at that time was between 3000 and 4000 lari. Now, so-called deputies’ salaries are three times higher. With that money, I couldn’t have hosted Trump or Hillary Clinton. I couldn’t have distributed presidential gifts to many cultural figures, public activists, or foreign delegations. These were all the expenses of the presidential office, which, by decision of the National Security Council, were classified so our enemies wouldn't know whom the president was meeting or who was coming to our country. All of this was classified ‘Top Secret.’ They came and removed the ‘Top Secret’ classification only for the presidential office’s expenses. They continued in an active mode to secretly spend everything,” Saakashvili stated.