The Government closes ranks with Begoña Gómez after the endorsement of the popular jury: "It is a political cause based on fake news"

The Government has closed ranks with Begoña Gómez after the Provincial Court of Madrid confirmed that she will be tried by a popular jury for the alleged crimes of influence peddling and embezzlement. Moncloa maintains that Pedro Sánchez's wife is innocent and presents the procedure as a "political cause" built to persecute the president's family circle.

"Everyone who knows the investigation knows that it is a political cause, which has its origin in a false complaint, based on false news," sources from the Executive have indicated. Moncloa considers that the "only motivation" for the process is "the harassment and persecution of the Prime Minister's wife" and again questions the actions maintained over the last two years by the controversial judge Juan Carlos Peinado.

The resolution supports the case going before a jury for influence peddling and embezzlement, the two crimes that remain within the procedure. The Provincial Court dismisses business corruption and misappropriation that Peinado also attributed to Gómez. The accusation of professional intrusion had already been previously excluded, so the case has gone from the five crimes initially investigated to the two that must be examined in the trial.

Moncloa recalls the Audiencia's corrections to the controversial judge Peinado

The Government also focuses on the decision to lift all personal precautionary measures dictated by the instructor. The Audiencia will return Begoña Gómez's passport and nullifies both the prohibition to leave Spain and the obligation to appear every fifteen days before the court. The five magistrates reject that there is a risk of flight that justifies restrictions of that intensity.

The Minister Spokesperson, Elma Saiz, had already described Peinado's instruction as "erratic" before the Provincial Court's order was known. After the judge's last request for Gómez to accredit the details of her trip to London, Saiz denounced that his actions reflected an "obsession," a "persecution," and "political harassment" against the president's wife.

Begoña Gómez had received judicial authorization to travel to the United Kingdom for her daughter's graduation. Upon her return, Peinado demanded documentation from her to prove compliance with the imposed conditions, after verifying that her passport lacked physical entry and exit stamps. The Provincial Court has now rendered ineffective the personal restrictions that gave rise to that new requirement.

The order also keeps Cristina Álvarez, Gómez's advisor in La Moncloa, within the procedure for an alleged crime of embezzlement. Businessman Juan Carlos Barrabés is excluded from the future jury trial, although the investigation into his actions will continue in a separate proceeding under the direction of the same court.

Óscar Puente points to the judicial calendar: "It's all coincidences"

Óscar Puente has been the most forceful member of the Government in reacting publicly. The Minister of Transport has questioned that the Provincial Court's decision was announced on the same day that the Court of Justice of the European Union backed the compatibility of the Amnesty Law with community law. Puente suggests that the order has shifted the informational focus from a ruling favorable to the Executive.

"Do you see, children? It's all coincidences. The Provincial Court coincidentally decides today to send Begoña Gómez to a jury trial. Lest you focus on the CJEU ruling and get sidetracked from what's important," the minister wrote on his social media.

Puente has also questioned the treatment received by Gómez during the investigation and has compared her situation with that of the wives of previous prime ministers. "Can you imagine if Ana Botella or Viri had been put in the dock in a jury trial?", he asked in another message, referring to the wives of José María Aznar and Mariano Rajoy.

The coincidence with the European ruling on the amnesty has generated discomfort in both Moncloa and the PSOE. The CJEU ruling supports one of the main arguments defended by the Executive against the political and judicial offensive against the measure of grace. The publication of the order on Begoña Gómez a few hours later has completely altered the Government's information agenda.

Sumar speaks of a procedure that "makes no sense"

Sumar has also rejected the decision to maintain the trial by jury. The minority partner of the Government considers that the procedure seeks to cause "the greatest possible harm and scorn" against Sánchez's entourage and denounces that powers alien to the ballot boxes are used to try to overthrow the Executive.

The party underlines the contradiction that, in its opinion, maintaining the procedure at the same time that two crimes and all precautionary measures are eliminated. "Neither head nor tail. The entire investigation against Begoña Gómez has been one absurdity after another," sources from Sumar have indicated, calling what has happened during these two years a "nonsense."

The procedure will now continue through the channels of the Jury Court, where the accusations of influence peddling and embezzlement will be examined. Begoña Gómez will face that phase without a retained passport, without a travel ban and without periodic appearances, while her defense maintains the request for acquittal and the Prosecutor's Office maintains that the investigated facts lack criminal entity.