Hernando (PSOE) admits that he was offered information from the patriotic police against Pedro Sánchez and his daughters

MadridThe Secretary of State for Telecommunications, Antonio Hernando, also a former deputy to Pedro Sánchez's chief of staff, admitted to the judge on Monday that he met with Leire Díez, the so-called plumber Hernando, a former member of the PSOE (now a former member), testified to discuss the documentation they had regarding the activities of the so-called "patriotic police" against the Spanish president and his daughters. Hernando, who testified as a witness, also explained that he was told these police officers had been monitoring Sánchez's family before he took office, according to legal sources consulted by Europa Press. What he did not clarify is whether this meeting took place just before the Spanish prime minister took five days to reflect on whether or not to resign in the spring of 2024, during the Catalan election campaign. Hernando testified in the case overseen by Judge Arturo Zamarriego, which involves Díez, businessman Javier Pérez Dolset, and journalist Pere Rusiñol as defendants for allegedly seeking compromising information on Civil Guard officers and judges in exchange for favors. However, Leire Díez's version of events has always been that she was working on a journalistic investigation related to the inquiries of the so-called "patriotic police" into Catalan independence and the left. Aside from this case, Leire Díez is also under investigation in the SEPI case. within which context she was arrested along with the director of Plus Ultra, Julio Martínez, for alleged irregular commissions in exchange for public contracts.

The investigation for which Hernando testified today was opened following a complaint from Hazte Oír, which accuses Díez and the other defendants of attempted bribery and influence peddling. According to them, the modus operandi The scheme involved "meeting with defendants in various legal proceedings and with other individuals to gain access, through them, to supposedly unpublished and confidential files that could harm judges, prosecutors, and other professionals." According to the prosecution, this was done on the orders of the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party). A recent audio recording published by El País and El Mundo confirms this. endorsed the connection between Leire Díez and the socialists"I am Cerdán's right-hand woman," the now former member said, although she later claimed that she did not recognize herself in this statement. This same Monday, Santos Cerdán also sought to distance himself from the matter.

Cerdán did not report to Sánchez

After Hernando testified this Monday in Madrid's Plaza de Castilla, it was Santos Cerdán's turn. Both were summoned for 10:30 a.m., but while Hernando arrived an hour and a half early to avoid the press, Cerdán arrived right on time for his testimony. Cerdán also acknowledged meeting with Leire Díez, but denied that she acted on his orders. He also asserted that he did not report the meeting to the Spanish president, Pedro Sánchez. Neither did Hernando, although he did admit to passing the information to the PSOE's lawyer so that she could report the movements of the "patriotic police"—which Leire Díez had explained to him—to the National Court.