Romanian President’s Spokesman Denies Sex Tape Allegations

"I don't know, we never had any tape" featuring what the newspaper wrote, Voinescu said.

"We were never interested in having such a tape and I haven't seen or heard of this until this morning, when the media reported about it," Voinescu also said.

Romanian writer Horia Roman Patapievici, head of the Romanian Cultural Institute, said in an interview published Sunday by Spanish daily La Vanguardia that he knows for sure Romanian President Traian Basescu was offered a tape of social democrat rival Mircea Geoana receiving oral sex. Patapievici added the Romanian head of state refused to use the tape against his opponent.

Geoana, who lost Sunday's presidential election to Basescu and whose party is now trying to get the poll cancelled claiming it was rigged, dismissed the allegations as "sinister lies".

Patapievici said in a press release Thursday that he mentioned a tape in the interview with the paper, "without other references", to underscore Basescu's attitude versus that of his opponents.

Patapievici also cites a message from the interview author, journalist Felix Flores, saying "Mr. Patapievici did not mention the existence of a tape featuring Mr. Geoana: he only said Mr. Basescu was offered such a tape and refused it. He was not speaking of tapes - real or fake, that do or do not exist - or that are directed against anyone, but about Mr. Basescu's moral attitude."

"I don't think Basescu would nu strike a child, he just pushed him. His mistake was not denying it immediately. It was a bit like in Bill Clinton's sex scandal... By the way, I know from well-informed sources that Basescu was offered a video of Mircea Geoana receiving oral sex and he (Basescu) refused to use it against him. He's an honest man, believe me," the paper quotes Patapievici as saying.

Basescu suggested Friday evening on OTV, before the election Sunday, that he has a tape compromising Geoana but said he refused to make it public and threatened his campaign staff he would drop out of the presidential race if the tape is leaked. Basescu added social democrats spy on one another and betray one another.

"I told my staff I would drop out of the race if they have it published," Basescu said.

Basescu was asked whether he has any tape compromising Geoana and didn't deny it. He also said he would personally hand Geoana the tape the next day after elections.

His spokesman denied the tape Basescu was referring to is the one mentioned by the Spanish paper, adding the president will decide when to hand Geoana the tape.

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