"SCANDALOUS SITUATION"
Poland's right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party has pushed through a range of reforms since taking power in 2015 that the European Commission and rights groups say jeopardise the rule of law by politicising judicial appointments.
The PiS has argued the changes were needed to improve the efficiency of the courts and rid Poland of residues of Communist rule, which ended three decades ago.
Opposition politicians accused the government on Tuesday of using state structures to discredit critics and demanded the dismissal of both Piebiak and Justice Minister and Prosecutor General Zbigniew Ziobro.
"Mr Ziobro, according to the media reports, knew perfectly well about this scandalous situation of baiting independent judges, what's more, he accepted it," opposition lawmaker Pawel Olszewski told a news conference.
Onet.pl said Piebiak was supposed to inform an unidentified "boss" about the effects of the posted rumours.
"This is dangerous for the state, for democratic order... especially because it affects judges and it is paid for with public money," said Anna Materska-Sosnowska, a political scientist at Warsaw University.
Earlier this month, Poland's parliament speaker resigned after it was revealed that he used government aircraft for private trips, a move that suggested the PiS was keen to defuse bad publicity that could affect their re-election bid.
Despite scandals, the PiS looks set to win the Oct. 13 parliamentary vote, regularly polling over 40%. The main opposition Civic Coalition is below 30% in most polls.
