"Some judges do things that are difficult to understand": the Moncloa (Ministry of Justice) charges against the prosecution of the State Prosecutor.

MadridThere are more explicit ministers, such as the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, who, through X, accuses the Supreme Court of being "the real opposition" in the Spanish government. And there are others, perhaps more subtle, but who fundamentally believe the same thing. "It is evident that some judges do things that are difficult to understand," asserted the spokesperson for the Moncloa, Pilar Alegría, in the press conference following the cabinet meeting, despite expressing "the utmost confidence in justice and in the vast majority of judges and prosecutors in the country." This is how the spokesperson for the Spanish government targeted Ángel Hurtado, the investigating judge of the Supreme Court who has been prosecuted by the Attorney General of the State, Álvaro García Ortiz, for alleged disclosure of secrets.

"There is no direct evidence that determines that the Attorney General of the State leaked anything. On the other hand, on the contrary, there are a significant number of professionals and journalists from the media who declared under oath that they had the information [the email from the lawyer of Isabel Díaz Ayuso's partner in which he admitted the fraud that he admitted the fraud. information. Anyone who has read the order knows that the witnesses have been banished or have not been taken into account," Alegría stressed. When asked if Hurtado had prevaricated, the spokesperson for the Moncloa did not want to be blunt: "The answer is cautious, but sufficiently explicit."

In the words of the Minister of Digital Transformation and Public Function, Óscar López, Hurtado's order is "like the Northern Lights." In an interview this morning on TVE, when asked if it was a case of lawfare He preferred not to say so: "I will be as cautious as the judge was when drafting the ruling." However, he did want to recall former President José María Aznar's remark of "whoever can do it, let them do it" when he was told who was behind the operation against the Attorney General. According to López, "it is evident" that this legal case against García Ortiz "whitewashes" the possible corruption of Ayuso's partner, Alberto González Amador: "The message it sends is devastating." Sources at the Moncloa reiterate that García Ortiz has the support of the Spanish government, even if the prosecution is confirmed and he ends up in the dock in a trial.

The wayward Gürtel judge

Hurtado's career is marked by his participation in the Gürtel case trial. He was the president of the court and issued a dissenting opinion on the ruling, in which he described the conviction of the People's Party (PP) in the Gürtel case as a "leap into the void." This ruling prompted Pedro Sánchez's motion of censure against Mariano Rajoy. In his opinion, the corrupt network led by businessman Francisco Correa acted "behind the PP's back," as he wrote in his dissent to the ruling handed down by his colleagues in the National Court. In recent hours, his behavior during former President Rajoy's testimony as a witness has become apparent: one can see how he cuts off all questions about whether the notes made by former treasurer Luis Bárcenas regarding the Gürtel case were true. Mr. Rajoy They refer to him. "This question is irrelevant," he keeps repeating.

Hurtado joined the Supreme Court in late 2020, nominated by the conservative members of the General Council of the Judiciary. His candidacy enjoyed the consensus of 19 members of the judges' governing body, given that on September 30, 2020, two more justices were chosen to fill the vacancies in the Second Chamber of the Spanish high court. The other candidates were Leopoldo Puente and Javier Hernández, the latter proposed by the progressive sector.