The PSOE president acknowledges before the judge that in the Leire case there are "worrying indications"
Cristina Narbona referred the then socialist militant to Santos Cerdán because he told her that "he knew facts that could be important"
MadridCristina Narbona has completely distanced herself from the maneuvers that Leire Díez allegedly instigated to destabilize judicial cases involving Pedro Sánchez's circle. The PSOE president, who exchanged WhatsApp messages with the then socialist militant on the day the Spanish president began his five-day period of reflection, has made it clear that she “had no knowledge whatsoever” of the alleged plot that the National Court is investigating. She said this when questioned by journalists after a testimony of less than half an hour before Judge Santiago Pedraz. Leire Díez told her that she “knew of facts that could be important.” “By facts, I understood facts. Of course, nothing to do with what is being investigated,” she clarified. According to what ARA has learned, she said behind closed doors that Díez had called her because she “wanted to collaborate and help” and “had useful information for the party.” “I mean information, not mudslinging,” she specified. However, she acknowledged that the Civil Guard reports that have become known in recent weeks describe “worrying indications.”
She also recounted that she referred the so-called plumber of the PSOE to Santos Cerdán because he, as the party's organization secretary, was in charge of communication policy. A few days later, Cristina Narbona asked the socialist number three how it had gone and he downplayed it: “He told me that she had not contributed anything of interest.” However, two days later, Cerdán and Díez met – along with other people – in Ferraz for a meeting that allegedly marked the beginning of the maneuvers that are under suspicion.
Days after the call between the two, Díez insisted via WhatsApp, in the messages that appear in one of the Civil Guard's key reports. Leire Díez told her that it was necessary to “redirect” the attacks on the Spanish president and turn the matter “inside out.” But Cristina Narbona avoided interpreting her words: “I have no idea what she meant or what she did afterwards,” she said to the microphones. Subsequently, they did not speak again. Inside the courtroom, she pointed out that since 2020 they have only met twice and stated that she does not consider her a “friend.”
During the interrogation, the PSOE president has shifted all responsibility to Santos Cerdán. In fact, it is the same roadmap that the party has maintained in recent weeks in the successive requests for information from the investigators. “All the powers were held by the Organization Secretary to formalize the contracts he considered,” he answered when questioned about the invoices with the lawyers that are being investigated. To questions from the PP lawyer, he reiterated that Cerdán had “competencies” to allow access to the Ferraz car park and to authorize trips at the party's expense “without supervision”. He also acknowledged that the PSOE has not opened any internal investigation into all these matters.
Finally, she stated that she met Leire Díez in 2017, when she was head of press for the presidency of Cantabria: “At that time, I had no assignment from the party, I was a simple member,” she explained when questioned by the prosecutor. Cristina Narbona arrived at the National Court at ten forty-five in the morning, 45 minutes before the time she had been summoned, accompanied by her brother-in-law, from whom she said goodbye at the door.
The meeting with the right-hand man of the attorney general
This Wednesday, two prosecutors also testified. Diego Villafañe, who was Álvaro García Ortiz's right-hand man as State Prosecutor General, confirmed that he met twice with Jacobo Teijelo and Leire Díez. The lawyer – who is now part of Santos Cerdán's defense – introduced her as a “colleague, collaborator, and person who helps him in big cases,” although in both meetings she “remained silent”.
What did they talk about? Legal sources tell ARA that the prosecutor explained that Jacobo Teijelo had brought up several hydrocarbon cases, but Diego Villafañe admitted that what he was saying didn't make much sense. He asked prosecutor Beatriz López to accompany him. She also testified this morning and said the meeting was "Martian." When the meeting ended, the State Attorney General found them, told them to enter his office, and asked them about the meeting. "Forget about it, don't worry," Álvaro García Ortiz told Beatriz López.