The PP goes back to 2017 and revives the Russian plot in Congress

MadridThe day after Junts announced its break with the PSOE, and while in the Congress press room the PP spokesperson, Ester Muñoz, faced journalists' questions about a hypothetical motion of no confidence with the support of Junts, in the same building, just a few meters away, a parliamentary committee took a leap back in time. The PP's parliamentary spokesperson during Mariano Rajoy's government was tasked with reviving the Russian connection to the Catalan independence process this Tuesday in the lower house, as the investigation into this alleged conspiracy between Carles Puigdemont's circle and Vladimir Putin's Russia continues. It's been months since it definitively derailed in the courts

The PP, on its own, has cited journalist David Alandete, Washington correspondent forAbc and from COPE, on the joint national security committee. One of the reasons for summoning him was that he is the author of the book The Russian plotwhich recounts all the facts "about the alliance between Catalan separatism and the Kremlin." Alandete's intervention, in which he said that the investigation into this matter should be "reopened" through legal channels, ended up provoking a tense confrontation with Junts deputy Josep Pagès, who accused him of being a "liar" and a "manipulator instrumentalized by the PP." "You didn't come to inform, you came to contaminate. That's why the PP brought you here. For us, you are to journalism what [Judge Joaquín] Aguirre is to the judiciary: a black hole," said Pagès, who recommended that Alandete "abandon his obsession" with this "falsehood."

Alandete defended himself by denouncing an "attack on the press" by Pagès. "I never imagined being insulted as a journalist in parliament," the Washington correspondent retorted, who just ten days earlier had another public clash with a politician. Specifically, with the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, who called him a "patriot of theAbc with accreditation to ask questions of the White House." Alandete asked US President Donald Trump about Spain's controversial role in NATO. Besides replying to Puente that his question was pertinent (and that he doesn't ask it "every day," as the minister said), the journalist stated in several interviews that there had been "pre"

Alandete has reiterated this complaint in response to the questioning of his account of the Russian involvement in the Catalan independence process by members of parliament from the PSOE, Sumar, ERC, and EH Bildu parties, who accused him of acting as a "political actor" in the committee. "If Puigdemont decides he can talk to Russia to declare independence, the public has the right to know. They've called a judge crazy here. A judge! I haven't even seen anything like this happen in Turkey. They're like Trump. It's truly alarming," the journalist said. Hernando came to his defense—the Popular Party deputy said that the alleged Russian involvement involves "dark interests that jeopardize national security"—and agreed in condemning the attacks on journalism. However, the parliamentarian did so by criticizing the attempt to bar far-right agitators like Vito Quiles from entering Congress. Just this morning, another incident occurred during the press conference of Verónica Martínez Barbero, spokesperson for Sumar in Congress, when one of the members tried to ask a question outside of the designated question period. In any case, the committee meeting concluded without Alandete responding to the PSOE's question about whether he believes Puigdemont "committed the crime of high treason." The PP spokesperson, speaking from the press room, also did not clarify whether they would seek the support of the Junts leader for a motion of no confidence.