“The interpretation of the Supreme Court cannot be labeled as surprising or unpredictable, much less capricious or the fruit of an alleged animosity.” The first version of the first draft of the Constitutional Court regarding the amnesty for embezzlement, prepared by the conservative José María Macías and to which ARA has had access, proposes rejecting the appeal for amparo presented by Jordi Turull against Manuel Marchena's decision not to grant him amnesty and to keep his disqualification in effect until 2030. The document, which will be debated at the plenary session of the TC on September 22, fully endorses the thesis of the high court, which avoided pardoning the embezzlement by alleging that the members of the 1-O Government enriched themselves because they did not pay for the referendum out of their own pockets: “The benefit can also be defined as the mere possibility of improperly disposing of funds not previously available, a fact that increases spending capacity and the consequent possibility of acquiring goods and services. Being able to dispose of what was not available already implies a benefit,” the draft argues.

The Constitutional Court took an important step this week toward bringing amnesty closer to Carles Puigdemont with the admission of his appeal for constitutional protection. This initial approval came a month later than expected as a result of a move by the former Catalan president's defense team that caused confusion within the court: the Junts leader challenged three conservative judges, knowing that they would not succeed and that they would only delay his appeal for a few weeks. Now the cases of the leaders of the 1-O vote who are still disqualified or under indictment—Jordi Turull, Oriol Junqueras, Raül Romeva, Dolors Bassa, Carles Puigdemont, Toni Comín, and Lluís Puig—are in the hands of the Constitutional Court judges, who are expected to issue their rulings in a few months, but it will still take time. "It is realistic to think that the appeals will be resolved in the first quarter of next year," warn sources at the court.