For months, the case being investigated by Judge Juan Carlos Peinado against Begoña Gómez, wife of the Spanish president, Pedro Sánchez, has been causing unease within socialist ranks: they consider it a "persecution" against Gómez for being the wife of the head of the state executive. This weekend, however, Peinado has also managed to outrage the police and part of the judiciary with the argument he used to justify the withdrawal of Gómez's passport, a precautionary measure that had been requested by the popular prosecution led by the ultra entity Hazte Oír. The magistrate considered there was a flight risk because her escorts could help her in an eventual escape. An argument that angered the police force and also alerted the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ). So much so that this Monday the permanent commission of this body will study whether to open disciplinary proceedings against Peinado.

In a book published at the beginning of the year (On the Rule of Law), its author, Javier Cremades, warns about the fragility of the rule of law.

It is difficult to talk about lawfare in the cases that harass the PSOE due to the multitude of evidence and proof that accumulate daily, but if there is one that could serve to illustrate a textbook case of lawfare it would be the one affecting the wife of the Spanish president, Begoña Gómez. Judge Juan Carlos Peinado has led a surreal investigation, guided by evident bad faith and hostility towards Pedro Sánchez and his circle. For this reason, everyone took for granted that last Monday, when Begoña Gómez was summoned for a hearing, the judge would proceed to inform her of her indictment and the opening of oral proceedings. Surprisingly, however, five days later, the judge has not yet communicated his decision, nor has he ruled on the popular prosecution's request to withdraw her passport preventively, which unjustifiably prolongs the procedure.

While everyone was waiting for Juan Carlos Peinado to decide whether to send Begoña Gómez to trial and whether to revoke her passportdecide whether to send Begoña Gómez to trial and whether to revoke her passport, the controversial judge has made an unexpected move and has decided to open a new line of investigation in the case concerning Pedro Sánchez's wife. It is a separate piece for the crimes of prevarication and fraud against the interests of the European Union for a contract that was awarded to a company owned by Juan Carlos Barrabés. In a resolution of just over 200 words, the magistrate limits himself to citing the decree of the European Prosecutor's Office and avoids giving any minimal explanation of who intervened. It is, therefore, a very embryonic first step. Four hours after it became known, Peinado had to issue a new resolution to "clarify" that the piece is opened "solely" with respect to the businessman and, therefore, excludes the Spanish president's wife.

In recent weeks, political news in Madrid has been marked by judicial investigations. The outbreak of the Leire case and the Zapatero case have shaken the PSOE and have once again placed Pedro Sánchez in a moment of maximum weakness. And there is a repeated name that appears linked to the so-called plumber of the PSOE and the investigation into the former president of the Spanish government: Nervis Gerardo Villalobos, who was Vice Minister of Energy in Venezuela with Hugo Chávez from 2004 to 2006.

While Begoña Gómez trusts that the Madrid Court of Appeal will prevent Regulation on the creation of extraordinary chairs includes the "possibility" that, "exceptionally and for justified reasons," someone "without a labor link" to the university may be appointed as director.

With the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, and his wife on the other side of the world, on an official visit to China, Judge Juan Carlos Peinado has closed the investigation and sent Begoña Gómez to trial. He did so this Monday in an order full of historical and literary references, unusual in legal language. As he has done throughout the investigation, in his latest order, Peinado shows great interest in linking her to her husband, despite the fact that Sánchez's role is not part of the investigation. He refers to her as "the wife of" up to four times, insisting that Gómez's professional activity experienced notable growth once Sánchez arrived at Moncloa.

The Spanish government is usually prudent when it has to comment on the judiciary, but there are two exceptions: the case of the Attorney General, Álvaro García Ortiz, in which they defended his innocence until the end, and the case of the Spanish president's wife, Begoña Gómez, who this Monday Judge Juan Carlos Peinado brought a step away from trial. This Tuesday, up to three ministers have closed ranks with Pedro Sánchez's wife and have even insinuated that there is political persecution. Moreover, they have reaffirmed that everything will be corrected by higher authorities. "We are in a state of law and not in the regime of Ferran VII," said the Minister of Justice, Félix Bolaños, alluding to the reference that Peinado made in his ruling comparing the Spanish government to an absolutist regime.

Two years after initiating the investigationthat triggered the famous five days of reflection for Pedro Sánchez, Judge Juan Carlos Peinado has decided to close the investigation into Begoña Gómez, bringing her a step closer to trial for four crimes. She is accused of influence peddling, embezzlement, business corruption, and misappropriation. The magistrate believes that her status as the Spanish president's wife served "to influence" and allowed her "access to exceptional institutional dialogues".Hours after the decision, the Spanish president has again indirectly accused the magistrate of engaging in politics. One of the key points of Peinado's thesis is the solicitation of funds for the chair that Sánchez's wife co-directed at the Complutense University of Madrid, which is at the epicenter of the case. The judge states that Gómez sought the funds "ostensibly" for the project, but that – in reality – they were to "be integrated into her personal assets".

The Madrid Provincial Court has issued another warning to Judge Juan Carlos Peinado. The judge, who has been investigating Begoña Gómez for almost two years, surprised everyone last September by deciding that the case should be tried by a jury. Pedro Sánchez's wife, his advisor at the Moncloa Palace, and businessman Juan Carlos Barrabés—with the support of the Public Prosecutor's Office—opposed this decision, and now the Madrid Provincial Court has ruled in their favor. It considers that the rulings issued by the investigating judge lack the "necessary justification" and fail to present a narrative that includes "plausible evidence," which "violates the right to effective judicial protection." The court argues that this prevents the parties from "sufficiently understanding the reasons for the decision." Consequently, it has overturned four of Judge Peinado's rulings and returned the proceedings to their previous stage.

Juan Carlos Peinado has become one of the most high-profile and controversial judges in this legislative session. His determination to investigate Begoña Gómez, Pedro Sánchez's wife, for influence peddling, business corruption, practicing law without a license, misappropriation, and embezzlement of public funds has put him in the crosshairs of the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) and the Moncloa Palace (the Prime Minister's residence). Other parties within the plurinational majority, such as Sumar and ERC (Republican Left of Catalonia), have also criticized him, attributing his actions to political motivations. On what basis does the Madrid investigating judge base one of the cases that are plaguing the Spanish president?

Judge Juan Carlos Peinado is keeping his case against Begoña Gómez, the wife of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, alive. This Wednesday, the magistrate rejected the motion to dismiss the case and made another move: he has charged another official from the Moncloa Palace, the current Secretary General of the Presidency and former Director of the Department of Technical and Legal Coordination, Judit Alexandra González Pedraz. Peinado has summoned her to testify on November 12, at which time he will inform her of the charges against her and that she is being investigated for embezzlement. One aspect of this case is the hiring of Gómez's former advisor, Cristina Álvarez, for which the magistrate has also charged Álvarez herself, Begoña Gómez, and the Spanish government's delegate in Madrid, Francisco Martín Aguirre, who previously held a position in the Presidency. The judge's argument is that the hiring of this advisor, paid for with public funds, actually served to manage Begoña Gómez's private affairs. To justify this charge, in the ruling made public this Wednesday, the judge cites the judgment in the embezzlement case. Peinado explains that embezzlement is not only that defined in Article 432 of the Penal Code, which is also "the most common," and which refers to "appropriating, with the intent to profit, or allowing a third party to do so with the same intent, public assets under one's charge." He recalls that the judgment in the embezzlement case also invoked the possibility of "eventual misappropriation," that is, when public funds are managed in a "disloyal" manner. Peinado, in this regard, cites one of the excerpts from the judgment in the trial: "The crime of embezzlement of public funds, subject to a significant reform introduced by Organic Law 1/2015 of March 30, now punishes not only misappropriation or theft, but also the disloyal administration of public funds." In this sense, he recalls that other judgments have established that this type of embezzlement "condemns the conduct of the authority or public official in charge of public assets who, breaking the bonds of fidelity and loyalty incumbent upon them by virtue of their position and abusing the powers of their office, causes harm to the assets under their administration." Thus, he adds that this type of embezzlement includes actions such as "the improper assumption of obligations," which is what he believes occurred in the Begoña Gómez case. The Foreign Ministry example

Peinado cites as an example the conviction of Raül Romeva, then Minister of Foreign Affairs, for failing to comply with the Constitutional Court's orders and preventing "the use of public funds for the illegal referendum and, above all, the uncontrolled use of public resources for this same purpose." According to the judge, the ruling in the Catalan independence trial did not condemn "the normal operation of Diplocat"—which the Minister of Foreign Affairs controlled—nor the opening of delegations abroad, but rather "the blatant disloyalty of using public funds to cover the expenses incurred as a result of a referendum."

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The Madrid Court puts Judge Juan Carlos Peinado at his feet, who wanted to send Begoña Gómez to two jury trialsThe court ruled this Thursday that the separation of the case against the wife of the Spanish Prime Minister into two parts is "premature and unfounded" and reversed it. Following this setback, there is currently only one case against Gómez, and the investigating judge must decide whether to further justify the separation of the part for embezzlement related to the hiring of Gómez's assistant at the Moncloa Palace, Cristina Álvarez, or whether to incorporate it into the main part. The ruling by which the embezzlement claim was submitted to the jury, therefore, also automatically falls.

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Judge Juan Carlos Peinado wants to send the entire remainder of the Begoña Gómez case to a jury. The investigating judge issued a new order this Thursday summoning the wife of the Spanish president, businessman Juan Carlos Barrabés, and Moncloa aide Cristina Álvarez to appear in court next Monday at 5:30 p.m., as he did with the first part that was being referred to a jury. However, those involved, They sent their lawyers. "That those under investigation be duly summoned and made aware that they must necessarily appear with their lawyer," Peinado writes, after last Saturday's standoff.

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In a week marked by the migration debate and Alberto Núñez Feijóo's concerns about his position on the Gaza conflict, the court agenda has once again been intense. The Badajoz Court has confirmed that Pedro Sánchez's brother will go on trial for malfeasance and influence peddling; a Madrid court has opened Oral trial against Isabel Díaz Ayuso's partner for tax fraud and criminal organization, among other crimes; Judge Juan Carlos Peinado has decided that Begoña Gómez be tried by a popular court for embezzlement; and, finally, the composition of the court that will try the State Prosecutor, Álvaro García Ortiz, has been confirmed.

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There was an unusual appointment this Saturday afternoon at the courthouse in Madrid's Plaza de Castilla. Judge Juan Carlos Peinado had summoned the Spanish president's wife, Begoña Gómez, at 6 p.m. to inform her of his decision. this week: that if she is tried, it will be by a jury, because she is accused of embezzlement of public funds. Now, Pedro Sánchez's partner has decided to renounce the investigating judge and delegate her appearance to her lawyer, former Socialist minister Antonio Camacho.

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Former Spanish President José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero used the term unusual Thursday morning when journalists asked him about Judge Juan Carlos Peinado's decisionsend Begoña Gómez to a jury trialIf he meant that an embezzlement case would end up being decided by nine randomly selected citizens, that's not unusual, but rather a strict application of the 1995 Organic Law on Jury Courts. Whether there was any intention behind the decision is another matter. Below, we review some key aspects of Judge Peinado's decision.

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The embezzlement case against Begoña Gómez for hiring a maid at the Moncloa Palace who assisted her with private tasks will be tried by a popular court. This was determined by the investigating judge, Juan Carlos Peinado, who in a ruling issued this Tuesday agreed to transform the proceedings into a "procedure for a trial before a jury court." This does not mean that the judge will yet send Gómez, her maid Cristina Álvarez, and the former Secretary General of the Presidency of the Spanish Government, Francisco Martín, the three defendants, to trial, but legal sources indicate that the investigation is continuing. "Time will put things right. The truth is they are innocent," Spanish President Pedro Sánchez stated at a press conference at the UN, referring to the case of his wife and also that of his brother. David Sánchez, who is on the verge of trial.

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The judge investigating the Begoña Gómez case, Pedro Sánchez's wife, Juan Carlos Peinado, has filed several lawsuits against politicians and journalists who have criticized his investigation. The judge believes the criticism has violated her right to honor and may constitute the crimes of slander and libel. According to the report, The Confidential And as confirmed by Efe news agency, several conciliation proceedings have already been scheduled in different first-instance courts, as a first step following the lawsuits filed by the head of the 41st Examining Court of Madrid. Among the defendants are the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, the former Spanish vice president and former leader of Podemos, Pablo Iglesias, as well as journalists Ernesto Ekaizer and Antón Losada.

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The Supreme Court has thrown to the ground the claim of the controversial judge Juan Carlos Peinado to investigate the Minister of the Presidency and Justice, Félix Bolaños, in the Begoña Gómez case. The High Court on Tuesday rejected Peinado's request to charge Bolaños, which he referred to the Supreme Court, due to the fact that Bolaños has immunity from prosecution. The judge charged him with alleged crimes of embezzlement of public funds in the hiring of Gómez's assistant at the Moncloa Palace, Cristina Álvarez, and of being a perjury witness for the statement he made to her in which he denied any wrongdoing. The Supreme Court has not found any evidence of a crime in Bolaños' actions and emphasizes that in the letter Peinado sent it, there is an "absolute absence of any evidence that is minimally substantiated or even remotely plausible."

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