The PP asks to charge Mercedes González for her contacts with Leire Díez and points to the number two of the Civil Guard

The Partido Popular has asked the judge to summon as investigated the general director of the Civil Guard, Mercedes González, for her contacts with Leire Díez and for her alleged collaboration with the maneuvers directed against the Central Operative Unit (UCO). The request is part of a document of new proceedings presented by the popular party as a unified private prosecution in the SEPI case, to which ElConstitucional.es has had access.

The petition is not limited to González. The PP also requests to investigate her predecessor in office, Leonardo Marcos, and the deputy operational director of the Civil Guard, Manuel Llamas. The popular party maintains that there is sufficient evidence for the court to examine their role in the episodes that, according to the accusation, affect the internal functioning of the Armed Institute and the actions of the UCO in cases with political implications.

The document is based on several points. The PP highlights that Mercedes González held at least three meetings with Leire Díez, that the former socialist militant would have boasted of having “absolute control” over the general director and that one of the conversations revolved around Commander Rubén Villalba, a civil guard investigated in the Koldo plot.

The popular party also points to Leonardo Marcos and Manuel Llamas for the orders attributed to Civil Guard commanders for the UCO to “take a back seat” and not be “proactive” in investigations with “political impact”. In that block, they expressly place the case of the Prime Minister's brother.

From the Senate to the court

The judicial offensive comes after two key appearances in the Senate. First was Mercedes González, who denied having “ever” participated in any plot against the UCO and defended that her contacts with Leire Díez were simple personal meetings. The director of the Civil Guard then maintained that she had not interfered in any investigation and summarized her version with a phrase: “I have had two coffees with Ms. Leire Díez. Period.”

This Tuesday, the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, once again shielded González in the Koldo case commission. The minister denied knowing Leire Díez and assured that the director informed him of a request related to Villalba because it caused her “alarm”. He also refused to dismiss her and maintained that the alleged plot had been generated outside the Interior Ministry.

The PP does not buy that version. In their brief, the popular party members maintain that the Interior Ministry's explanation has been changing as reports and appearances progressed. They also focus on a note from the Information Headquarters that warned of an "aggressive disinformation campaign" against the UCO's investigations. According to the accusation, that note would have been hidden from the unit for ten days.

The request is also presented on the same day that the judge has accepted the summons as witnesses of prosecutors Diego Villafañe and Beatriz López Pesquera, who also held meetings with people linked to the investigated plot. The PP is now trying to get the court to take another step and put the current and former leadership of the Civil Guard under investigation.