How far will the PSOE go to investigate the dirty war?

MadridWhile awaiting the complaint from Artur Mas and others affected by Operation Catalunya who might take the step, the commission of inquiry opened in Congress is gathering protagonists of the dirty war against the Process with the judicial horizon in its sights. In the eyes of the independence movement, the lack of consequences in the courts for Mariano Rajoy's government is an anomaly, an anomaly that the PSOE is now also denouncing. "This commission will end up with several of your colleagues parading through the courts. There are hundreds of reports, notes, that have been stored in drawers and will eventually come out. Whoever does it, will pay," Socialist spokesperson Manuel Arribas told former Spanish Vice President Soraya Sáenz de Santa.

How far is the PSOE willing to go? In the Tandem macro-case of the National Court, in which the irregular practices of former commissioner José Manuel Villarejo are being investigated, a few weeks ago, the popular prosecution brought by Pedro Sánchez's party requested the indictment of former PP number 2 María Dolores de Cospedal, following the latest audio recordings that had been published, which supported his involvement in the state sewer scheme. "There is sufficient evidence that Operation Catalunya existed, but it's logical to wait for the conclusions. No decisions have been made yet," Arribas assures in conversation with ARA. Other Socialist sources emphasize that the party does intend to eventually take the contents of the commission of inquiry to the Prosecutor's Office.

For the time being, it is in the PSOE's interest to focus on the corruption of the PP and not on the cases affecting Sánchez's entourage. Later, when the commission concludes, the key will be whether the Prosecutor's Office is willing to initiate any proceedings. So far, the person who has gone the furthest is former Barça president Sandro Rosell, who managed to get a Madrid investigating court to admit a complaint against those responsible for Operation Catalunya, although it was eventually dismissed. Former Economy Minister Jaume Giró also tried, but in his case it didn't pass the first filter and didn't even have the favorable opinion of the public prosecutor.

In most cases, the main problem has been the difficulty of constructing a sufficiently solid account of the facts when there was only some audio—such as that of Alicia Sánchez-Camacho with Villarejo drawing up a blacklist of people linked to the sovereignty movement—or some note in the former commissioner's diary. New to this is the testimony of former commissioner Marcelino Martín Blas, who also provided documentation to Congress.

The crimes

Another complication is which crimes can be investigated. The complaint filed by Giró, in fact, was also dismissed because the statute of limitations for organized crime and embezzlement would have expired. A more plausible option is the one related to the Pegasus espionage, which is much more recent and for which former CNI director Paz Esteban is already being investigated. Finally, what the PSOE does see as more feasible is to raise with the Prosecutor's Office the issue of some of those appearing before the commission, something also provided for in the Criminal Code.