Peinado's new move against Sánchez: he now accuses the Spanish government's representative in Madrid.

MadridNew move by Judge Juan Carlos Peinado against the Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sánchez. The investigating judge in the case against Begoña Gómez, the wife of the Prime Minister, has summoned the Spanish government's delegate in Madrid, Francisco Martin Aguirre, as a suspect for his alleged involvement in the hiring of Gómez's advisor by the Moncloa Palace. Peinado has summoned him for Wednesday, May 14, at 1:30 p.m. The Spanish government has responded by undermining the credibility of the presiding judge of Madrid's 41st Investigative Court, whom they have long accused of acting with political motivations against Sánchez. "This investigation is no longer a cause for concern for honest people with a clear conscience who are being affected. It is a cause of utmost concern for all of us who defend the good name and impartiality of the judges and magistrates of our country," said the Minister of Justice and the Presidency, Félix.

In a press conference, the Spanish government delegate in Madrid maintained that he has a "very clear conscience" and expressed his conviction that "all this noise will come to nothing." "I don't feel concerned about this procedure," he said. The PP, on the other hand, has not hesitated to take advantage of this new judicial initiative against the socialist leader's entourage to attack him within the framework of a strategy of attrition against the Spanish president, for which they are also taking advantage of the movements in the cases of Sánchez's brother in a court in Badajoz or that of Ábalos in the Supreme Court. "Another Sanchista doing the walk to the court for the Begoña case. Thank goodness there was nothing and it was all a fabrication," said the PP's parliamentary spokesman in Congress, Miguel Tellado, in X.

The appointment of the advisor

Peado makes his move after taking a witness statement in Bolaños last April 16The senior Spanish government official distanced himself from the appointment of Cristina Álvarez—Begoña Gómez's advisor—in response to the investigator's questions seeking to clarify whether there had been an alleged crime of embezzlement. Martín Aguirre was Secretary General of the Presidency during the last term and replaced Bolaños in this position when he was appointed minister in July 2021. According to Peinado's justification in a ruling to which ARA has had access, Martín Aguirre was the advisor's "supervisor and hierarchical superior" when she sent the emails that are in the judge's sights. These are messages sent by Álvarez related to the private business dealings of Sánchez's wife, for which Gómez is being investigated for business corruption, influence peddling, professional intrusion, and misappropriation of funds.

In the ruling, the judge of Madrid's 41st Investigative Court maintains that there are indications of embezzlement in Martín Aguirre's conduct due to his role. He attributes to him an "apparent participation in the appointment" of an advisor to perform "private functions" charged to the general state budget. Peinado takes this step at the request of a complaint from Vox, which the judge partially admits because the far-right party, one of the popular accusations, wanted him to go further and also investigate him for malfeasance and influence peddling.

Santiago Abascal's party also wanted to add the three crimes to the list that the judge already attributes to the conduct of Gómez and Álvarez—whom he is investigating for two of the four crimes for which he is pursuing Sánchez's wife, those of business corruption and influence peddling. Peinado has ruled this out and believes that Álvarez cannot be held responsible for the alleged misappropriation of funds due to his appointment, nor can Gómez for merely "using his professional services, albeit for personal purposes" without intervening in the administrative aspect.

Further investigations by Peinado

This wasn't Peinado's only move this Tuesday. According to Europa Press, in another branch of the same case against Gómez, he asked the Complutense University to clarify who hired the former coordinator of the master's program directed by the wife of the Spanish president, Blanca Juan de Castro. He has given her ten business days to specify her position, the selection process, and her duties and remuneration. De Juan testified as a witness in this case and explained that he had been in contact with Gómez's advisor at the Moncloa Palace to coordinate agenda items.