Juan Carlos Peinado, a magistrate who opened an investigation against Begoña Gómez, the wife of the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, has made an unusual move recently. He ordered a report to be drafted on the frequency with which the prosecutor in the case visits the court to learn about the rulings being made in the investigations, even before they are officially notified. Peinado justified this request due to the frequent and unusual personal visits from the prosecutor to the court. However, sources from the Prosecutor’s Office complain that this has been the only way to find out about important decisions made, as the magistrate has not notified them of some decisions, such as the opening of the case, until after they have been published in the press.
With this initiative, Judge Peinado is starting a battle with the Prosecutor’s Office, where there is discontent with the magistrate’s actions since the case against Begoña Gómez was opened. The magistrate initiated the proceedings in an order issued on April 16; however, according to sources from the prosecution, it was not notified to the public prosecutor’s office until the afternoon of April 24, when the case had already been revealed by the media. This week, the same thing happened, according to prosecutor sources: they found out through the press that the magistrate had summoned six witnesses to testify on June 6 and 7.
The magistrate issued a ruling on Thursday filled with criticism towards the prosecutor’s office, which had already appealed to the Provincial Court of Madrid the acceptance of the complaint filed by the pseudo-union Manos Limpias, the origin of the procedure. The text signed by Juan Carlos Peinado, the judge of the Court of Instruction 41 in Madrid, criticizes the frequent and unusual personal visits from the prosecutor to the court, as well as his unusual procedural attitude. The judge also pointed out the prosecution’s alleged insistence on having immediate knowledge of the content of the rulings, not only those already made, but also those that could be made in the future.
The magistrate initiated proceedings on April 16 for crimes of influence peddling and corruption in business, after receiving a complaint from Manos Limpias – a simple list of newspaper headlines – about different professional jobs performed by Sánchez’s wife. He did so without seeking the opinion of the Prosecutor’s Office. Although the judge has not yet summoned Begoña Gómez to testify as a suspect, according to sources from the investigation, he granted her the status of “investigated” from the first day to avoid her defenselessness in the case, allowing her to appoint a lawyer to represent her.
From the very beginning of the case, the magistrate has pointed to Begoña Gómez as a “possible participant” in the events and has not ruled out that the investigation may lead to other individuals. Among other initiatives, the magistrate also requested a report from the Central Operating Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard. As reported by EL PAÍS, they sent him an analysis of almost 120 pages (plus several documentary annexes) that concluded that there is currently no evidence of influence peddling. Despite this, the judge pushed the case forward this week with the summoning of six new witnesses. On Thursday, he requested the National Police to provide him with an authenticated and readable copy of the ID card of the President’s wife, “given the state of the current proceedings.”
