After the Madrid Court has endorsed that she be tried by a popular jury –although two charges against him have been dropped and his passport returned– and that Hazte Oír has requested thirteen years in prison for her, Begoña Gómez shakes up the board and, according to sources familiar with the matter confirmed to ARA, has decided to change lawyers. In this way, she dismisses the lawyer who has defended her throughout the entire two-year investigation, Antonio Camacho, and signs Jaime Campaner, who is also Josep Pujol Ferrusola's lawyer.

Progressives have prevailed over conservatives on the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) and, thanks to the casting vote of president Isabel Perelló, have proposed to sanction judge Juan Carlos Peinado for a minor offense of disrespect for having suggested that Begoña Gómez's escorts could help her flee. The informational proceedings were opened a month ago and already at that first moment the CGPJ was divided because the conservative members alleged that reviewing the judge's words on precautionary measures was not within the CGPJ's competence. Initially, there was a possible serious offense on the table, but it has finally been reduced to minor. This stalemate of positions, which hindered the first attempt to reach an agreement, has been maintained until the end, but Perelló's casting vote – as in the initial vote – has broken the tie. The final say will lie with the Superior Court of Justice of Madrid, which will now have to decide whether to sanction the judge or not: it can issue a warning, impose a fine of up to 500 euros, or apply both penalties.

Almost every week a new indictment appears related – more directly or indirectly – to the PSOE. The latest name to emerge is Juan Manuel Serrano, who was president of Correos from 2018 to 2023 and director of Pedro Sánchez's cabinet at Ferraz. His name joins a long list of people – with different levels of responsibility – allegedly involved in fourteen open lines of investigation. The first convicted person was the State Attorney General, Álvaro García Ortiz, but there are a total of 50 officials related to the Spanish government or the PSOE, members of the Civil Guard, and men who were of Sánchez's utmost confidence who have ended up before a judge. That's up to 109 if we also count the 59 businessmen, family members, and lawyers – and other profiles – indicted in the different open cases.

Relevant decision by the Provincial Court of Madrid regarding the case affecting Begoña Gómez. For weeks, the Spanish government had been awaiting its pronouncement to rein in the investigating judge, Juan Carlos Peinado, and finally, the decision arrived this Thursday. What has the chamber decided? The five magistrates order the withdrawal of precautionary measures and the return of her passport – they consider there is no "real" risk of flight because she has family ties and it was an "unfortunate" decision – but they endorse that a popular jury judge her.

Juan Carlos Peinado doubts Begoña Gómez and moves again. After Pedro Sánchez's wife flew to London to attend her daughter's graduation, which was last Friday, the judge who has been investigating her for two years and has prohibited her from leaving Spain due to risk of flight, gives her five days to prove that she used her passport only for this trip: “To require her to prove that the passport has been used for the specific purpose for which the precautionary measure was lifted,” he points out in a provision to which ARA has had access. And he adds that he wants to verify it to ensure that she has not taken “any action” that could constitute a crime of breaking a precautionary measure.

Four weeks after Pedro Sánchez arrived at Moncloa, the new Minister of Justice, Dolores Delgado, hired Antonio Viejo (Madrid, 1959) as Secretary General of the Administration of Justice. For two years, he was in charge of “driving, directing and monitoring” the “modernization, organization and distribution of human and material resources” of the justice administration and relations, for example, with the General Council of the Judiciary or the Public Prosecutor's Office. He remained in office until February 2020, after the formation of the coalition government between the PSOE and Unidas Podemos.

If the latest events of the 21st century don't have you confused or distracted, it's because you live outside of everything. And if you're still operating with 20th-century codes, you'd better get a move on, or the tsunami will catch you by surprise. Because in the midst of the era of "fake news, trying to fit what happens into the logic of reality is a useless task, as useless as trying to live without an internet connection.

Juan Carlos Peinado once again defends tooth and nail having had Begoña Gómez's passport withdrawn and preventing her from leaving Spain to avoid her fleeing. He does this in a report he has presented to the Madrid High Court in response to the appeal by Pedro Sánchez's wife's lawyers against the precautionary measures. He acts as if he hears nothing and "reaffirms and reiterates" all of them. Two days ago,another judge, who replaced him, prevented that Gómez traveled to Turkey for accompany Sánchez to the NATO summit, but it allowed him to go to London for his daughter's graduation. “This would not be the first time that a prime minister of a European Union member state has fled to an African continent country to avoid a corruption plot proceeding,” Peinado maintains in the document, to which ARA has had access.

When I imagined that love was eternal and that all couples would grow old hand in hand, not just the delicate, sweet, and admirable ones, and that one could do as in that song I liked so much ("we'll never sleep in separate beds"), the job of prime minister and wife, or queen and consort, traveling the world, going to boring events, seemed fun to me. "What a drag, today we'll inaugurate such and such a thing," I thought they must say, slyly, because they knew there would be a "dress up" for work, do it, bump into each other under the banquet table, and go to the hotel, finally, at night. Telling themselves "it's better than working."

Juan Carlos Peinado has shaken off the pressure and gone on vacation without resolving Begoña Gómez's request to be allowed to leave Spain. The judge who had to step in has ended up being Antonio Viejo Llorente, the same one investigating Isabel Díaz Ayuso's partner. His decision has been not to allow Pedro Sánchez's wife to travel to Ankara to attend the NATO summit, which will be held from July 7 to 8, mainly because Turkey does not belong to the European Union and, therefore, he considers that a hypothetical extradition would be more complicated. However, he does allow her to travel to London to attend her daughter's graduation, which will be on Friday the 10th.

First consequences of the withdrawal of Begoña Gómez's passport. Pedro Sánchez's wife, who Judge Juan Carlos Peinado has provisionally withdrawn her document and prohibited her from leaving the country, has had to make a first request to the magistrate to lift the measure. In a written statement, to which ARA has had access, Gómez asks for permission to accompany Sánchez to the NATO summit to be held from July 7 to 10 in Ankara, Turkey, and also to take advantage of the trip to attend her daughter's graduation, which will be held in London.

There is a comparison between two fashionable judges who are currently making a name for themselves: José Luis Calama, who is investigating José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero at the National Court, and Juan Carlos Peinado, who has sent Begoña Gómez to trial after a two-year investigation. It is obvious to everyone that the way these two major media cases in which they are involved are being handled is different. Indeed, high-ranking voices from Moncloa in the corridors of Congress admit that Calama "is not" Peinado, as shown by the fact that the investigation into the former Spanish president, still in its early stages, does not have the extravagances of the indictment of Pedro Sánchez's wife. The clear distance between the two has become evident, especially in two matters: the adoption of precautionary measures and the indictment of individuals who have previously testified under oath to tell the truth. Let's go step by step.

The General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) has opened the way to open proceedings against judge Juan Carlos Peinado, arguing that the bodyguards of the president's wife, Begoña Gómez, could help her flee. Despite the media noise, history shows that sanctioning a magistrate is almost a pipe dream. Recent examples support this: in 2024, the CGPJ ended up filing the proceedings against a judge who called the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez a "psychopath", and in February 2026, the conservative majority turned a blind eye to magistrates Eloy Velasco and Manuel Ruiz de Lara, who called the president's wife "Barbigoña", invoking freedom of expression.

The school year has ended, tomorrow is the eve of Sant Joan and summer has begun in the midst of a heatwave, which reminds us that the prophecies about the consequences of climate change in Catalonia are unfortunately being fulfilled on time.And with all, today's news is not this, but that of judge Peinado, who this weekend has requested the passport from Begoña Gómez, the wife of the Spanish president, Pedro Sánchez. The judge considers (hold my drink) that the police escort for the Sánchez family could collaborate in an escape from Spain. See how big a mess Judge Peinado has made that this morning the CGPJ has met again to see if they open a file on him.There is no doubt that Begoña Gómez has had her passport confiscated to humiliate her and her husband, to see if she finally abandons the presidency of the Spanish government. They are after her. They want her to resign. Even more, they want her in prison. Let's see, corruption within the PSOE has already led to three of Sánchez's collaborators being imprisoned, but this is not incompatible with Sánchez being the subject of political persecution by elements of the judiciary, obedient to the Aznar-era war cry “he who can, do,” who believe they have a corporate and patriotic duty to prevent the amnesty from correcting what the Supreme Court ruled. Especially since, thanks to the amnesty, Sánchez has managed to govern despite losing the elections. And he has been president for eight years now. And it's becoming eternal for them.

The General Council of the Judiciary has decided to open proceedings to open an investigation into judge Juan Carlos Peinado, who is investigating the Begoña Gómez case, for arguing that the bodyguards of the wife of the Spanish president, Pedro Sánchez, could help her flee. This justification, for which the magistrate decided to withdraw her passport as a precautionary measure, is the reason why the judicial body has decided to open an investigation. According to the CGPJ, the judge's words may constitute a "serious lack of consideration", provided for in article 418.5 of the organic law of the judiciary. Now there will be a promoter of the investigation who, after various informational proceedings, will decide whether to definitively open the investigation or issue a resolution to close the case. Sources consulted at the CGPJ assure that there are other pending complaints against Peinado that could also be analyzed this same week.

There is no doubt that Begoña Gómez has had her passport withdrawn to humiliate her and her husband, to see if she finally abandons the presidency of the Spanish government. The Madrid right and far-right (redundancy intended) are no longer willing to wait another minute for her to call elections. That's why the judge (hold my drink) considers that the police escort of the Sánchez family could collaborate in a flight from Spain. We already wrote it here months ago: they want the socialist president in prison.The Spanish nationalist right (excuse the repetition once again) is furious. Because of the amnesty and pardons for Catalan independentists in exchange for the investiture? Yes, of course. But not for the flag, which they flagrantly wave, but for power. Eight years of socialist presidency means eight years without controlling the BOE, with its appointments and its royal decrees. From Catalonia, we have the necessary perspective to understand that we are witnessing a new coup against the state. A coup that did not begin with the amnesty law, in which Sánchez dared to correct the Supreme Court's ruling (and which, precisely for this reason, is not being fully applied). The right did not digest the defeat of 2004 due to Aznar's lies when the train bombings occurred in Madrid, nor the Statute of 2006, corrected by the Constitutional Court after being approved in a referendum. That legal maneuver, and those that followed with the cases for 9-N and 1-O, bears a strong resemblance to this judge's decision intended to attack the executive from an unleashed judiciary. And the PSOE was more than warned that, when convenient, it is nothing more than the necessary alibi to legitimize Spain as a democracy with party alternation. But now the alibi is over. PP and Vox will now alternate.

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 "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 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 a possible escape. An argument that angered the police force and also put the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) on alert. 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.

Judge Juan Carlos Peinado sends Begoña Gómez, wife of Spanish President Pedro Sánchez, to trial and revokes her passport. The magistrate resolved this Saturday the request for precautionary measures made by the popular accusers in Monday's hearing. Thus, Gómez will not be able to accompany Sánchez on international trips. In addition to the passport revocation, he also prohibits her from leaving the State and obliges her to report to the court every fifteen days. These are the measures requested by Hazte Oír, the ultra entity that groups the popular accusers, because they considered there was a risk of flight. However, they did not request preventive detention. Peinado also accepts the same precautionary measures for Begoña Gómez's advisor, Cristina Álvarez.

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.