The judge asks Feijóo for all the messages he sent to Mazón regarding the DANA storm.
The PP leader has so far only contributed what he received from the former president of the Generalitat
BarcelonaThe judge in Catarroja is not satisfied with the messages that the PP leader, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, received from the former president of the Generalitat, Carlos Mazón, during the night of October 29th of last year. Feijóo she had simply complied literally with the magistrate's requestBut he had decided not to also provide the messages he sent to Mazón. However, as of Monday, he has a new request from the judge for him to provide the complete conversation, not just the texts from the former head of the Consell. Thus, the investigating judge, Nuria Ruiz Tobarra, requested that the Galician leader be informed "again" of "the possibility of voluntarily providing to this case, within three days, the WhatsApp messages that form an integral part of the conversation" between him and Mazón on October 29, 2020. Feijóo is scheduled to testify remotely as a witness on January 9, from his office in Congress.
Everything indicates that Feijóo will accept the request. Minutes before the judge's request became public, the Popular Party leader had commented on the messages, emphasizing that he was cooperating with the magistrate "100%." Feijóo did not send his phone to the judge, nor did he make a copy of the conversation with Mazón. Instead, he asked a notary to copy the former president of the Generalitat's texts to certify their authenticity and submitted this information to the court, along with an explanation from Feijóo himself to, in his opinion, provide the "context." "If the judge requests it, I will have no problem giving her [his messages]," he added. The PP president emphasized that the judge's requests are not mandatory and that cooperation is "voluntary," which he claims to be doing. In fact, the terms he used are intended to directly contradict Spanish President Pedro Sánchez's stance on the case of the Attorney General, Álvaro García Ortiz, who specifically claimed to have deleted the contents of his phone shortly after the leak of confidential tax information concerning the partner of the partner of the partner. "Around eight in the evening, I contact Mazón when I see the news wires," he explained. "I haven't deleted the messages, I haven't changed my phone, I'm not Sánchez. My cooperation is 100%. I won't remain silent when the judge asks me questions, nor will I file a lawsuit. I won't speak about..." lawfare"," he concluded.
The WhatsApps They have played a leading role at other points in the investigation. For example, when former Interior Minister Salomé Pradas—one of the main defendants—provided evidence to her team that, among other things, revealed conversations between Mazón's chief of staff, José Manuel Cuenca, and herself. Cuenca had not provided any evidence because he had deleted all the conversations from that day.
He will not resign
On the other hand, the leader of the People's Party was also outraged that the Spanish government spokesperson, Elma Saiz, had asked him to resign: "Why should I resign? For telling the truth? To cooperate with the judge? To voluntarily hand over everything the judge has asked for? It seems like a joke." Focused on downplaying his role in contact with Mazón on the day of the torrential rains, he doubled down on his controversial statements in which he claimed to have been informed "in real time." However, he added many nuances. His account is that he was very well informed between 8:00 p.m. and 11:30 p.m., even though the torrential rains had been affecting the region since midday, when he had not spoken with the former Valencian president.