The CGPJ closes the path of Minister Bolaños against the controversial judge Peinado one day after he seats Begoña Gómez on the bench

The General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) has rejected the appeal filed by the Minister of Justice, Félix Bolaños, against the dismissal of the complaints he lodged against Judge Juan Carlos Peinado, the investigating judge in the case against Begoña Gómez. The decision of the Permanent Commission thus maintains the dismissal of the proceedings opened as a result of the minister's complaints, just 24 hours after the magistrate ordered the opening of an oral trial against Pedro Sánchez's wife.

With this pronouncement, the governing body of judges maintains the decision it already adopted in July not to discipline or sanction Peinado. Bolaños's appeal sought to reverse that agreement, but the Permanent Commission has finally opted to confirm the dismissal of the complaints.

The origin of the confrontation lies in the complaints Bolaños filed against Peinado for his actions during the interrogation he underwent as a witness in La Moncloa in April 2025, within the case against Pedro Sánchez's wife. The minister then denounced the magistrate's "hostility" and "intimidating attitude" and questioned different actions carried out during the investigation.

Bolaños lashes out at the CGPJ

After learning of the initial dismissal, Bolaños appealed the decision and escalated the tone of his criticism against the governing body of judges. In his brief, he argued that the CGPJ had not acted with the required agility and rigor and reproached that "either due to conservatism or corporatism" it had not corrected the "irregularities" that, in his opinion, he had denounced "and thus restore the prestige and reputation of the Judiciary."

The minister also focused on the duration of the proceedings. According to his appeal, 427 days elapsed between the filing of his first complaint, in June 2025, and the notification of the dismissal, received last August 5. Bolaños considered this period particularly prolonged because the proceedings affected "very specific actions, perfectly identified and very easy to verify" and argued that during the investigation "a very small number of investigative steps" were carried out.

The Permanent Commission has finally rejected these arguments and maintains the criterion previously adopted regarding the complaints against Peinado. The body considers that a good part of the reported facts are related to the exercise of jurisdictional function and, therefore, fall outside the scope of the disciplinary power of the CGPJ.

Bolaños had already anticipated in his appeal his intention to continue the battle through other means if the governing body of judges confirmed the dismissal. The minister can now go to the Third Chamber of the Supreme Court to try to reverse the decision adopted by the CGPJ.

The pronouncement of the governing body of judges also comes one day after Peinado opened oral proceedings against Begoña Gómez. The magistrate has thus closed the investigation phase of the case and has agreed that the wife of the Prime Minister be tried by a jury court.