Alberto Núñez Feijóo's PP has decided to remove Alberto Durán from the leadership of its most high-profile judicial cases. The head of the party's legal advisory, who handled matters such as the 'Koldo case' and investigations related to José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and Leire Díez, will continue to work for the party. His role at the head of these proceedings will pass to other lawyers.
The change affects a lawyer who had coordinated the PP with other popular accusations and who participated in the cases that ended with the convictions of former minister José Luis Ábalos and David Sánchez, brother of the President of the Government. Durán also knew the procedures that he will now have to stop directing, some of them still in the investigation phase.
A replacement in cases with several accusations
The criminal lawyer Henry Feltenstein has asked Durán for the formal replacement to represent the PP, according to published information. The decision had been prepared since July and was communicated this weekend to other organizations involved in the cases. The party maintains that Durán will continue in its team and that it will incorporate external specialists to handle the volume and economic complexity of the procedures.
The move has effects that go beyond the PP's lawyer. In several of these cases, different popular accusations (including the far-right Vox and several associations) act under a unified direction to intervene in court. Durán had assumed that coordination role. Sources from the accusations cited by 'elDiario.es' maintain that the arrival of a new lawyer has caused discomfort and that they are studying asking the judges to appoint another lawyer with prior knowledge of the summaries. For now, it is a possibility, not a presented request.
If materialized, the discussion would have to reach the magistrates who are instructing the matters in the Audiencia Nacional. It is also contemplated to request that the joint direction be rendered ineffective. Changing the PP's representative does not by itself grant the substitute the coordination of all accusations, precisely because other parties participate in them.
Internal frictions and external lawyers
The reasons for the replacement are also not publicly closed. The consulted sources place behind the movement disagreements between Durán and Cuca Gamarra, deputy secretary of the PP responsible for the Justice area, over the strategy to follow in the courts. Génova offers another explanation: it maintains that it is reinforcing its legal services with external specialists and that it will decide on the appropriate team for each procedure.
Among the names that appear for this reinforcement is María Massó, a lawyer from the Baker McKenzie firm, who already assisted the PP in actions related to the 'Leire Díez case'. Her professional relationship with the party dates back further. In 2019, she represented the party in the trial for the destruction of Luis Bárcenas' computers, in which Durán also sat as an accused. The lawyer was acquitted.
The possible participation of the firm in the 'Koldo case' poses, according to 'elDiario.es', an additional difficulty. Another of its lawyers, former prosecutor Jesús Santos, defends Michaux Miranda, former head of personnel at Adif, in that procedure. The PP has not yet specified which external lawyers it will take on in each case, a decision that must also fit with the defenses already handled by the firm.
Add ElConstitucional.es as a preferred Google source for free.
Stay informed about all the latest breaking news with the best information. Against disinformation, for democracy and social rights.
