The judge opens a battle against the prosecutor in the case about Begoña Gómez | Spain

Magistrate Juan Carlos Peinado, who opened an investigation in April against Begoña Gómez, wife of the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, has carried out an unusual move in the last few hours. The instructor ordered this Thursday that a “report” be drawn up on the frequency with which the prosecutor in the case goes to court to learn about the “resolutions that are issued” in these investigations, “even before being notified.” Peinado justifies this request in light of “the frequent and unusual personal visits received at the headquarters of this judicial body by the representative” of the public ministry. But sources from the Prosecutor’s Office complain that this has been the only way to know important decisions adopted, since the magistrate has not notified them of some – such as the opening of the case itself – until after they have been published in the press.

With this initiative, Judge Peinado begins a battle with the Prosecutor’s Office, within which there is discomfort due to the magistrate’s actions since the opening of the case against Begoña Gómez. The magistrate opened the proceedings by means of an order issued on April 16; But, according to prosecution sources, the public prosecutor was not notified until the afternoon of April 24, when the case had already been revealed by the media. This same week the same thing happened, according to tax sources: they learned from the press that the instructor had summoned six witnesses to testify on June 6 and 7.

However, the magistrate issued a resolution this Thursday full of reproaches towards the public ministry, which has already appealed to the Provincial Court of Madrid to admit for processing the complaint presented by the pseudo-union Hands Cleans, the origin of the procedure. The text signed by Juan Carlos Peinado, head of the Court of Instruction 41 of Madrid, criticizes “the frequent and unusual personal visits received at the headquarters of this judicial body by” the prosecutor, as well as his “unusual procedural attitude.”

Along these lines, the instructor blames the Prosecutor’s Office for “the singularity of the almost automatic filing of the appeal against the initiating order.” [apertura] of these proceedings”, although he admits that he has “full right” to do so. And, in turn, he censures the alleged “insistence” of the public ministry “in having immediate knowledge of the content of the resolutions, not only issued, but those that could be issued”: “Without prejudice to the fact that they are being notified by the usual channel”, according to Peinado’s resolution, to which EL PAÍS has had access, and where the lawyer of the Administration of Justice of the court is ordered to prepare this “report” on the visits of the prosecutor.

The magistrate opened proceedings on April 16 for crimes of influence peddling and corruption in business, after receiving by distribution a complaint from Clean Hands – which consisted of a simple listing of press headlines – about different professional jobs carried out by the woman of Sanchez. He did so before seeking the opinion of the Prosecutor’s Office. And, according to investigative sources, although the judge has not yet called Begoña Gómez to testify as a defendant, he granted her the status of “investigated” from the first day to “avoid her defenselessness” in the case, thus being able to appoint a lawyer. that represents her.

According to these same sources, since the start of the case, which was declared secret that same April 16, the judge points out the investigation against Begoña Gómez as a “possible participant” in the events, and has not ruled out that the investigations end up being directed against others. people. Among other initiatives, the magistrate also requested a report from the Central Operational Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard. According to EL PAÍS, he has already sent him an analysis of almost 120 pages (plus several documentary annexes) which concludes that he has not found, at the moment, any signs of influence peddling. Despite this, the magistrate promoted the case this week with the summons of six new witnesses. And this Thursday he asked the National Police to “send him an authenticated and legible and visible copy of the DNI” of the wife of the President of the Government, “given the state of the present proceedings.”

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