The Permanent Commission of the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) has rejected by unanimity to shelve the preliminary proceedings opened against judge Juan Carlos Peinado, thus frustrating the initial proposal of the promoter of the disciplinary action and keeping alive the investigation initiated after the complaints of the Minister of Justice, Félix Bolaños.
The governing body of the judges has agreed that the disciplinary promoter, Ricardo Conde, continue with the investigations before adopting a definitive decision, which may involve the archiving of the case or the opening of a disciplinary file against the magistrate.
Bolaños' complaints came after his testimony as a witness in the case handled by the Juzgado de Instrucción número 41 de Madrid, in which Begoña Gómez, wife of the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, is being investigated. The minister went twice to the CGPJ denouncing what he considered inappropriate behavior by the judge during the interrogation.
The episode took place in the Moncloa Palace, where an appearance marked by tension took place. During the interrogation, Peinado accused Bolaños of responding with “evasions” to questions related to the hiring of an advisor linked to Gómez. “I believe I am not responding with evasions in any case,” replied the minister.
The magistrate also reproached the witness for some gestures during the statement: “I don't know why you are smiling”, to which Bolaños replied that he found the tone of the interrogation “very surprising”. Subsequently, the judge even raised the possibility of investigating the minister for false testimony, an initiative that was rejected by the Supreme Court.
Despite the disciplinary prosecutor having initially proposed the dismissal of the proceedings, the members of the CGPJ have opted to keep the investigation open. The Permanent Commission has also endorsed the dismissal of another four preliminary proceedings opened against Peinado for different complaints or denunciations, although the magistrate still has other matters under analysis in the disciplinary body.
