The trial of the attorney general ends as it began: without evidence.

This Thursday marks the final session of the trial against the Attorney General of Spain, Álvaro García Ortiz, at the Supreme Court, where the prosecution and defense will present their closing arguments. The oral proceedings, which have heard testimony from dozens of witnesses, have remained unchanged since the beginning of the trial: it began without any direct incriminating evidence against García Ortiz and has concluded in the same way. However, the unprecedented situation of seeing an Attorney General in the dock has been witnessed. As a reminder, the Attorney General is accused of leaking an email from the lawyer of Isabel Díaz Ayuso's boyfriend, Alberto González Amador, in which he accepted a plea bargain with the Prosecutor's Office in exchange for his client admitting to two tax offenses. During Wednesday's session, Civil Guard Lieutenant Colonel Antonio Balas, head of the UCO (Central Operative Unit), was only able to testify that during the investigation, "the Attorney General's control over the entire process was evident." In other words, lacking conclusive evidence, the most the Civil Guard could offer at the trial was that "a domain was visible," that is, a supposition without any concrete supporting evidence. In previous sessions, a dozen journalists testified to having accessed the infamous email before the Attorney General, and in fact, the information was published minutes before his subordinates forwarded it to him. Based on what was seen at the trial, a conviction seems unimaginable, but it is also true that the Spanish justice system is notorious for making inexplicable decisions. However, what can no longer be repaired is the damage to the institution. The State Attorney General's Office has become a collateral victim of the all-out war between the PP and PSOE parties, and specifically of the war that the Madrid government under Ayuso is waging against Pedro Sánchez's administration. In this regard, it is well known that the PP and Vox enjoy considerable support within the judiciary, which has helped to prolong processes like this one or the one Judge Peinado is handling against Sánchez's wife. Because what has been proven in the trial is that Ayuso's chief of staff, Miguel Ángel Rodríguez, fabricated a falsehood and spread it in chats with journalists until a media outlet, specifically The WorldHe published it. "I'm a journalist, not a notary," he argued, as if journalists didn't have to verify their information and had free rein to lie.

We'll have to wait until the trial is over and there's an acquittal before the case can focus on what's truly important: the fact that the president of the Community of Madrid is partnered with an alleged tax evader who will soon have to answer to the courts for defrauding the Treasury of more than €300,000. What will Ayuso do if her partner is convicted? Will she continue living in the apartment that González Amador paid for with the evaded money? And how will she be able to demand that the citizens of Madrid pay their taxes to the Community?