Peinado establishes that the embezzlement trial against Begoña Gómez will be held by a jury.

MadridThe embezzlement case against Begoña Gómez for hiring a maid at the Moncloa Palace to assist her with private tasks will be tried by a popular court. This was determined by the investigating judge, Juan Carlos Peinado, who in a ruling issued this Tuesday agreed to transform the proceedings into a "procedure for trial before a jury panel." This does not mean that the judge has already sent Gómez, her maid Cristina Álvarez, and the former Secretary General of the Spanish Prime Minister's Office, Francisco Martín, the three defendants, to trial, but legal sources indicate that the investigation is continuing.

The defendants are summoned to appear in court this Saturday at six o'clock in the evening to be formally notified of this procedure—the law stipulates that they have five days to do so once the ruling is issued. Sources from the Madrid judicial administration emphasize in the ARA newspaper that this is a very common decision, as embezzlement cases are handled under the popular jury law. They point out that former president of the Valencian Generalitat, Francisco Camps, was already tried under this procedure in the suits case linked to the Gürtel scandal. According to Article 1 of the Jury Court Law, its jurisdiction includes crimes of homicide, threats, failure to provide assistance, breaking and entering, bribery, influence peddling, and embezzlement of public funds, among others.

In this Saturday's hearing, the law establishes that the charges against those investigated must be specified. The Prosecutor's Office will request the dismissal of the case, as will the defense attorneys for those involved, but the popular prosecution, led by some far-right organizations such as Manos Limpias (Clean Hands) and Iustitia Europa (Justice Europe), will advocate for the proceedings to proceed. The parties may also request new proceedings. Peinado will then have to decide whether to archive or maintain the case, accept or reject the parties' requests for proceedings and order them on his own initiative. If he does not issue new ones, he can urge the parties to comment on whether the case should be sent to trial.

The investigation into this case has focused on the role of Cristina Álvarez, a Moncloa employee hired as an assistant to the Spanish president's wife. She was found to have exchanged emails with the Complutense University of Madrid regarding the chair headed by Begoña Gómez. Peinado sees misappropriation of funds, but the Spanish government has maintained from the outset that these types of assistants have performed tasks that are not necessarily institutional in nature. He cited Jaime de los Santos as an example, who, as an assistant to Mariano Rajoy's wife, accompanied him when he went shopping for clothes.

It was for this part of the investigation –Peinado has other lines open against Begoña Gómez– that the judge tried to charge the Minister of the Presidency, Félix Bolaños, Francisco Martín's predecessor as Secretary General of the Presidency of the Spanish government. But the Supreme Court is going to put a stop to the investigating magistrate. Specifically, Bolaños stated in statements from the corridors of Congress that the "appeal system is guaranteed." "Without a doubt, an impartial court will put things right," the Minister of Justice stated. An appeal against Peinado's decision this Wednesday can be filed with the Provincial Court of Madrid, which already endorsed the investigation into Cristina Álvarez.

Francisco Martín himself has said that the timing of Peinado's decision is "surprising"—he implies that it coincides with the referral of Isabel Díaz Ayuso's partner to trial—and sources at the Moncloa (Ministry of Justice) describe the judge's move as "surreal." According to the ERC spokesperson in Congress, Gabriel Rufián, it is "absurd." Peinado's decision to file a lawsuit against Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska for alleged violation of the right to honor stemmed from statements in which Marlaska believed the judge was conducting a "prospective" investigation and, therefore, accused him of malfeasance. This follows the lawsuits he has already filed against Transport Minister Óscar Puente and some media outlets.

Feijóo: "We can't all be the same"

Begoña Gómez's approach to trial has prompted an appearance by the leader of the People's Party (PP), Alberto Núñez Feijóo, who, with a serious demeanor, asserted that Sánchez is "absolutely cornered by all the courts," and also referred to the case of his brother, David Sánchez, who will have to attend. "In Spain, everything can't be the same for us," the conservative president demanded, continuing to wonder how the allies of the PSOE leader's investiture aren't demanding the president's resignation in the face of the judicial ordeal affecting his entourage. Feijóo insisted that one cannot speak of "judicial persecution" against the Spanish government, and even less so now that a jury will judge Gómez. "We hope they don't tell them that there is lawfare, or that they are far-right," he asserted. The president of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, also described Gómez's situation as "extremely serious."