The Civil and Criminal Chamber of the Superior Court of Madrid rejected the complaint filed by the President of the Government, Pedro Sanchez, against the judge who is investigating his wife, Begoña Gomez, for alleged crimes of procrastination.
Unanimously, the Chamber rules out that Peinado procrastinated by summoning Sánchez to testify in person, by modifying the regime provided by law for appearances in testimony by state authorities, without any motivation and by seeking a “extra-procedural end”, according to the complaint filed by the prosecution.
Contrary to the complainant and the criteria of the superior prosecutor, who supported the opening of criminal proceedings against Judge Peinado, the TSJM emphasizes that the summons issued as a witness to the head of the executive was made “clearly” for acts which do not arise from the exercise of law functions of president of the governmentso the instructor was not obliged to give him the possibility of being able to declare in writing, as Sánchez asserts.
“It is one thing for the complainant to maintain that his institutional condition is practically inseparable from his personal or family condition. It is another which is reflected in the judicial resolutions which give rise to the complaint,” explains the Chamber, which emphasizes he pointed out that in the latter case, “it does not take into account any knowledge that Sánchez may have had of the facts under investigation in the exercise of his functions”.
“Whether the formula chosen by the instructor is correct or not,” he adds, “it is true that I didn’t want question the president of the government on his actions as an institution, but rather on the defendant’s husband for what he might have known on this personal level.”
The House concludes its resolution by declaring that “in view of the speculative nature on which the complaint is based and the harm it reveals likewise”, this criminal action “is due solely to the attempt to distort the lawful aim” implied by the criminal type of prevarication.
