Mazón's press officer admits she lied about the former president's whereabouts

ValenciaMaite Gómez, former press officer for the ex-president of the Valencian Generalitat, Carlos Mazón, testified this Friday before Judge Nuria Ruiz Tobarra, who is presiding over the DANA case, that on the afternoon of the tragedy she was unaware that the former head of the Valencian government was having dinner at the El Ventorro restaurant in Valencia with journalist Maribel Vilaplana. In fact, she admitted that the information she provided to the media that day and in the days that followed, regarding how the PP leader handled the disaster, was based on what seemed logical to her, not on what she actually knew. This is what she told the judge, according to sources present at her testimony who spoke to ARA. The journalist's response angered the judge, who replied that it was unbelievable that she would inform the media about the president's whereabouts on such a crucial day as the DANA storm without first confirming it with him.

Gómez, who is part of Mazón's inner circle, explained that on the afternoon of the tragedy she was working at the Palau de la Generalitat until 5:30 p.m., when she went home. She also said that she only saw the former head of the Consell when she was picked up to go to the Emergency Coordination Center located in the metropolitan town of l'Eliana. "The director of organization notified me. It was around 7:45 p.m. She called me and told me to go to the Palau to go to l'Eliana. She didn't tell me the reason. I assumed the president was also going. I called a taxi, that's why I remember the time. It dropped me off just before the Serranos Towers so I could be picked up. When I got in the car after crossing the bridge, the ES-Alert sounded," she recounted, according to these same sources.

Despite leading a communications office, an entity by definition closely linked to current events, Gómez explained that a calm atmosphere prevailed at the Palau de la Generalitat on the afternoon of the DANA storm. "I didn't speak to anyone that afternoon. Only with Francisco González [then Director General of Communications for the Generalitat]. Nothing related to the emergency," she stated, much to the judge's disbelief.

Another moment of perplexity for the magistrate occurred when Gómez argued that Mazón was fully informed about what was happening throughout the afternoon of the DANA storm. "How do you know?" the judge asked. "It's normal," the press officer replied. "So, does he know or not?" Tobarra pressed. "How am I supposed to know?" Gómez finally admitted, acknowledging once again that his words were based, at best, on assumptions.