These days, media outlets are publishing screenshots of the state attorney general’s private conversations. They come from a report requested by Judge Ángel Hurtado. This is serious because these are constitutionally protected talks that were only obtained with the authorization of a judge. It’s also preposterous because what was leaked was an investigation into a leak. But it is especially terrible because everything suggests that this time the hit-and-run will not be investigated. Ultimately, it is good for political and judicial law to harm Pedro Sánchez. Not like the other leaks, which denied a hoax coming from the People’s Party.
The Penal Code punishes any authority or public agent who reveals information of which he became aware in the course of his duties and which must not be disclosed. This is what its article 417 says and what gave rise to an investigation into whether the state attorney general sent emails to the press in which the lawyer of Isabel Díaz Ayuso’s boyfriend sought to reach an agreement with the prosecution in exchange for admitting that he had committed a tax crime. It is doubtful whether such emails are, strictly speaking, documents that should not be disclosed; Many of the best procedural law professors argue that these types of negotiations should be public. Regardless, there is no question that the state attorney general should not release documents to the press. Not even to deny a hoax. If there are indications that you may be guilty of such behavior, it makes sense that an investigation be conducted while respecting all of your procedural rights.
