The judge decides whether to revoke Begoña Gómez's passport

MadridA bus from Hazte Oír passes in front of the instruction courts of Plaza Castilla in Madrid announcing the good news: Begoña Gómez, wife of Pedro Sánchez, indicted for four crimes. A dozen people with Spanish flags and banners of "Corrupt Sánchez" shout and applaud as it passes, while about twenty journalists keep watch at the doors of the building with a large police presence. This Monday was a key day for the judicial case affecting the wife of the Spanish president, Pedro Sánchez: Judge Juan Carlos Peinado has summoned Begoña Gómez for a hearing prior to a possible jury trial and, furthermore, has asked the parties if they wanted to take precautionary measures. Hazte Oír, which groups the popular accusations, has requested the withdrawal of the president's wife's passport and that she be prevented from leaving the country because they believe there is a risk of flight, in addition to the obligation to report to the court every fifteen days and financial measures to prevent her from using the companies under suspicion. However, it has not requested preventive detention.

The Prosecutor's Office has not made any request, as it advocates for the dismissal of the case. Now the judge must make a decision, which will be in the coming hours, taking into account that the session ended almost at ten at night. If he decides to withdraw her passport, it will mean that she cannot leave the country or accompany Sánchez on international trips.

, judicially speaking, for the PSOE: former Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has been summoned to the National Court on Wednesday and Thursday as a suspect in the Plus Ultra case.

This preliminary hearing was an essential step, according to the jury law, to continue with the proceedings. The objective was to ascertain if there are indeed solid indications to launch the entire jury machinery, which, it should be remembered, implies that ordinary citizens will judge whether a crime has been committed. For this reason, Monday's appointment consisted of two parts: a first contact between the parties so that each could present their position, and then another section on whether precautionary measures should be taken. Now the judge has three days, that is, until Thursday, to decide whether to open oral proceedings against the Spanish president's wife. A deadline that coincides with a judicially speaking, "horribilis" week for the PSOE: former Spanish president José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero is summoned to the National Court on Wednesday and Thursday as a suspect in the Plus Ultra case.

Although the judge has opened oral proceedings, the defense of the Spanish president's wife has appealed her processing to the Provincial Court of Madrid, which could render the procedure a dead letter. She may also appeal the decision that Peinado will soon make. So far, the Provincial Court has partially endorsed the judge's decisions: it has allowed the investigation to continue but has limited her scope of action. In addition, it raised objections to the popular jury procedure, as it warned Peinado that initially it was not sufficiently justified.

What is she accused of?

And what is Gómez specifically accused of? Judge Peinado's thesis is that she would have used the status of the Spanish president's wife to open doors and achieve private benefits that she would not have obtained otherwise. He focuses on the businesswoman's various behaviors and lumps them into the case like a catch-all. He scrutinizes the recommendation letters she signed, for example, in favor of businessman Barrabés, also under investigation in the proceedings, when dealing with the administration or the creation of a chair at the Complutense University, where she would have created a computer application now under suspicion for having patented it in her own name.

At the same time, the judge has also put under scrutiny the work of her Moncloa advisor Cristina Álvarez for doing work related to her private affairs while being paid by the Spanish government. For these facts, the popular prosecution of Hazte Oír requests up to 24 years in prison for the Spanish president's wife, while the Prosecutor's Office has so far requested the dismissal of the case because it sees no indication of a crime.

In the report on the case, the UCO of the Guardia Civil supported the creation of the chair by Begoña Gómez, but detected "irregularities" in the management of the contract award.