WARSAW -- Poland's Prime Minister Leszek Miller categorically ruled out his complicity in the so-called "Rywingate" scandal Saturday as he testified before a special parliamentary commission.

The commission is probing allegations of attempted corruption and "irregularities" in the drafting of key amendments to the country's media law, DPA reported.

In a lengthy opening statement, Miller described suggestions that he had played a role in the high-profile affair as "false" and vowed to reveal everything he knew about the circumstances surrounding the drafting of changes to the media law.

He was previously quoted in a newspaper report as threatening to "put a stake through" anyone who may have implicated him in the scandal.

However, many Poles, believe it is Miller's own political future which hangs on his every word during his Saturday and Monday testimony.

In "Rywingate", allegations surfaced that Miller may have been behind an attempt to extort money from Poland's largest private media Company Agora, publisher of the top-selling **Gazeta Wyborcza**.

Although the premier has flatly denied any wrongdoing, he has come under heavy fire for failing to inform justice officials about the alleged corruption case.

The scandal surrounds Lew Rywin, Poland's top film producer and a co-producer of Oscar winner Roman Polanski's "The Pianist". Rywin allegedly attempted to solicit a 17.5-million-dollar bribe from Agora.

In exchange, he is alleged to have promised that "a group holding power" would arrange changes favorable to Agora's interests in the amendments to the media law. Agora refused to pay the bribe, and **Wyborcza** later published a report detailing Rywin's alleged proposal.

Rywin was then reported to have claimed that Prime Minister Miller had sent him to solicit the bribe, but later publicly denied the premier's involvement. The film producer has since been formally charged with attempting to solicit a bribe.

As part of a separate criminal investigation, prosecutors set an historic precedent by being the first ever to question a Polish head of state when they called on President Aleksander Kwasniewski to testify.

Given the scope and transparency of both the parliamentary inquiry and the criminal investigation, "Rywingate" has given the Polish public an unparalleled glimpse of what goes on inside the corridors of power in Poland. Unlike any other scandal since communism's demise in 1989, it has also cast a dark shadow on the governing elite and shaken the foundations of the country's 14-year-old democracy.

Some of Poland's most prominent political and media personalities have testified before the special commission. Its proceedings are broadcast live on television and have drawn record audiences for what pundits describe as Poland most-watched "Reality-Show". There have also been calls for President Aleksander Kwasniewski to testify.

Some sociologists believe the close look at the governing elite has left Poles disillusioned and contributed to the record low public confidence in Miller and his cabinet.

April opinion surveys showed only 10 to 12 percent of Poles backed his administration.