Begoña Gómez stands up to Judge Peinado
The investigator had summoned the wife of the Spanish president to inform her that if she is tried, it will be by a popular jury.
MadridThere was an unusual meeting this Saturday afternoon at the courthouse in Madrid's Plaza de Castilla. Judge Juan Carlos Peinado had summoned the Spanish president's wife, Begoña Gómez, at 6:00 p.m. to inform her of his decision. this week: that if she is tried, it will be by a jury, because she is accused of embezzlement of public funds. However, Pedro Sánchez's partner decided to snub the investigating judge and delegate her appearance to her lawyer, former Socialist minister Antonio Camacho, according to government sources reported by Europa Press.
What is she accused of? According to the investigating judge, the Presidency hired an advisor, Cristina Álvarez, who did not actually work for the Moncloa but was in charge of managing the private affairs of President Pedro Sánchez's wife. Along with Gómez, Peinado had also summoned Álvarez and the Spanish government delegate in Madrid, Francisco Martín, who had previously been Secretary General of the Presidency. Neither of them appeared in court, and their lawyers did so on their behalf.
Despite the unusual summons, it is a mere formality because the investigation period has not ended and the parties can still request further proceedings. This is a separate piece of the main case, which began with a complaint from the far-right platform Manos Limpias. It would not have been the first time Begoña Gómez has faced Peinado, as she has already called him to testify up to four times. The last was September 10th and it only lasted two minutes and there were three questions: Gómez only answered questions from his defense.
According to legal sources, at that time Sánchez's wife explained that Álvarez helped her sporadically with private matters, in addition to managing her schedule and public activities.