The ultra leader, Santiago Abascal, finds Begoña Gómez guilty before the trial and calls Sánchez's Government a "mafia"

The leader of the far-right Vox party, Santiago Abascal, took advantage this Monday of the opening of oral proceedings against Begoña Gómez to treat her guilt as proven. The wife of the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, will be tried by a popular jury for alleged crimes of influence peddling and embezzlement. Abascal already presents them as "crimes typical of a vulgar band of fraudsters".

The far-right leader has also extended his attack to the Presidency of the Government. In a message published on X, he accused Sánchez of "threatening and coercing judges," called the Executive "mafia" and demanded independent institutions. He did not accompany these accusations against the president with evidence or a concrete fact that would support them.

His message came hours after the controversial judge Juan Carlos Peinado issued a new order for the opening of oral proceedings. The decision also affects Cristina Álvarez, Gómez's former assistant in La Moncloa, who will go to trial for alleged embezzlement. Peinado maintains that the president's wife used her position to promote her activity at the Complutense University of Madrid and that she used Álvarez for tasks unrelated to her public position. Both deny having committed any crime.

A case curtailed by the Audiencia

This Monday's resolution comes after the Provincial Court of Madrid corrected the first opening of the trial agreed by Peinado. The court maintained the procedure for influence peddling and embezzlement, but left out the alleged crimes of business corruption and misappropriation. It also lifted the withdrawal of Gómez's passport and the other personal precautionary measures that the instructor had imposed on her.

Peinado has again sent the case to trial with these two crimes and without imposing bail or new personal restrictions. The popular prosecution led by the ultracatholic organization Hazte Oír requests 13 years in prison for Gómez. Both her defense and the Prosecutor's Office demand acquittal.

Moncloa has responded to the order with an express defense of Begoña Gómez. Government sources maintain that the investigation has been "arbitrary and unjust" and is a response to persecution for being the president's wife. They have also expressed their confidence that the jury will examine the facts impartially. This political criticism of the judge's actions is what Abascal has turned into an accusation of threats and coercion against Sánchez.

The opening of a trial allows a jury to examine the accusations; it does not establish that the crimes have been committed. The case will now pass to the body responsible for holding the hearing, which will have to set the date. Peinado will leave the judicial career this week upon reaching the maximum age to practice.