The judge of the Audiencia Nacional who is investigating the Leire Díez case, Santiago Pedraz, has for the moment ruled out charging the PSOE and has opted to wait for further proceedings, including the statement of former socialist leader Santos Cerdán, as confirmed by legal sources to Europa Press.
The magistrate's decision comes in a case investigating an alleged plot to disrupt judicial proceedings that would affect the PSOE, supposedly led by Santos Cerdán and coordinated by former socialist militant Leire Díez.
Anti-Corruption sees indications, but considers the indictment premature
The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office has followed a similar line and, in a report sent this Thursday to the instructor, has indicated that it sees indications against the PSOE in the so-called Leire Díez case, although it understands that, for now, it is premature to request the party's indictment.
Legal sources point out that the Public Prosecutor's Office does not consider it appropriate, for the moment, to move in that direction and maintains that pending proceedings, such as Santos Cerdán's statement, must be carried out first. The fiscal response comes one day after Santiago Pedraz requested a specific report on the possible indictment of the socialist party.
The request of the PP and the popular accusations
The judge's consultation responded to a request promoted by the Popular Party (PP), which demands the indictment of the PSOE for alleged illegal financing, among other crimes. The unified popular accusation, led by the popular party, maintains that the actions carried out "confirm" that the party "defrayed" the expenses of the alleged "criminal organization at the indication" of Santos Cerdán.
In its brief, the PP requests that the PSOE be investigated for alleged crimes of bribery, embezzlement, influence peddling, money laundering, and illegal financing.
The PP's thesis places the origin of the plot in Ferraz
The party led by Alberto Núñez Feijóo maintains that the facts point to a structure organized from within the party's environment and not to isolated initiatives. In its approach, the popular party speaks of a "criminal organization" that, allegedly, would have been directed by Santos Cerdán during his time as Secretary of Organization of the PSOE and that, according to their thesis, would have been created at the party's national headquarters to protect the interests of the Government and the organization itself.
The document presented before the Audiencia Nacional links these alleged maneuvers with the period after the five days of reflection that Pedro Sánchez took in April 2024, after publicly announcing that he was evaluating his continuity at the head of the Executive. Judge Santiago Pedraz had already placed a relevant moment of the investigation in that stage, considering that a meeting held in Ferraz on April 26, 2024 could mark the beginning of the activities attributed to the alleged plot.
More investigated in the case
According to the judicial investigation, Santos Cerdán would have commissioned Leire Díez actions aimed at destabilizing judicial procedures or police actions that could harm the PSOE or the Government. In May, the magistrate charged Santos Cerdán himself, the former vice president of the Junta de Andalucía Gaspar Zarrías and the manager of the PSOE, Ana María Fuentes, within this case.
In addition to Leire Díez and Santos Cerdán, lawyers and other implicated parties also appear in the investigation, within the framework of proceedings that are still open and that, for now, do not include the imputation of the PSOE.
