The Government faces its last judicial appointment this week with Mercedes González after the European endorsement of the amnesty and the trimming of the case against Begoña Gómez

The Government arrives on Friday with another important appointment in the National Court. The director general of the Civil Guard, Mercedes González, will appear as an investigated party before judge Santiago Pedraz to explain her contacts with Leire Díez and her actions in several internal investigations related to the Central Operative Unit.

Her statement was scheduled for this Thursday, but the magistrate decided to postpone it due to the duration of the interrogation of the operational deputy director of the Civil Guard, Manuel Llamas. The DAO's appearance lasted for about three hours and left insufficient time for González's summons, who will return to the National Court this Friday.

The interrogation concludes a week of enormous judicial burden for the Executive. In just four days, the conviction of the president's brother, the progress of the procedure against Begoña Gómez, the statements in the 'Leire case', and the European ruling on the amnesty law have occurred. The procedures lack connection with each other, although the PP and the far-right Vox have been grouping them for days within the same offensive against Pedro Sánchez.

Moncloa has tried to keep the different levels separate. It respects the resolutions, defends the innocence of those affected, and rejects that each procedural novelty can automatically be presented as proof of a political plot. Mercedes González's appointment will be the last test of that strategy before the weekend.

Three meetings with Leire Díez under scrutiny

Pedraz is investigating the director of the Civil Guard for alleged crimes of prevarication and obstruction of justice. The UCO documented three in-person meetings between González and Leire Díez, held on September 30 and December 20, 2024, and April 2, 2025.

Investigators maintain that the former socialist militant intended to promote internal actions against UCO agents related to cases affecting the PSOE, the Government, and Sánchez's circle. According to the report incorporated into the procedure, Díez allegedly tried to use her relationship with González to promote administrative investigations within the Armed Institute.

That account will be the focus of the interrogation. Pedraz wants to know what was discussed in those meetings, what information the general director received, and if any of the subsequent actions were related to Leire Díez's requests. The case places the latter as the coordinator of an alleged operation aimed at discrediting judges, prosecutors, and agents in charge of sensitive investigations.

Mercedes González has acknowledged her contacts, although she maintains a completely different version of their content. Her relationship with Díez stemmed from the period when the former was the Government delegate in Madrid and the latter worked as the director of Institutional Relations for Correos. González assures that judicial investigations were never discussed at the September 2024 meeting.

She also explained that Leire Díez later proposed the return of Commander Rubén Villalba, investigated in the 'Koldo case', to his post. The general director maintains that she rejected the request "outright" and never took any steps to favor him.

"Never, ever" has she interfered in a UCO investigation, González affirmed during an appearance in the Senate. She also denied having pressured agents or participated in a plot against the unit, a position she will now have to present before the judge and the private prosecution.

The DAO denies having stopped investigators

Mercedes González's appearance will come just hours after Manuel Llamas denied before Pedraz having asked the UCO to "stay on the sidelines" in investigations related to the Government. Among them is the open case against David Sánchez, the president's brother.

The accusation stems from statements made by former officials and agents of the unit. The former head of the UCO between 2023 and 2025, Rafael Yuste, attributed to Llamas and the previous general director, Leonardo Marcos, pressure for investigators to reduce their initiative in certain procedures.

Llamas denied that order and defended the work carried out by the UCO. He also explained that the reserved investigations opened due to the appearance in several media outlets of data from judicial proceedings were provided for in the internal regulations of the corps and responded to the obligation to clarify possible leaks.

The DAO admitted that the Minister of Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, was interested in the publication of email addresses belonging to Pedro Sánchez, Begoña Gómez, and David Sánchez that were among the material seized by investigators. According to his statement, that interest led to the usual checks in the face of the possible dissemination of personal information, without instructions to condition the judicial investigations.

Llamas also assured that he has suffered a “campaign of discredit and disinformation” since his name appeared in the procedure. His explanation offers the judge a version that contradicts the one collected by the UCO. Pedraz must now contrast it with the police reports, previous testimonies, and the statement of Mercedes González.

Moncloa maintains its confidence in the leadership of the Civil Guard

The Government decided to keep González and Llamas in their positions after their summons became known. The Interior Ministry then conveyed its full confidence in both and guaranteed that they would collaborate with Justice throughout the investigation.

“Total normality and transparency, because there is nothing to hide,” government sources said. Moncloa considers that a summons as an investigated party allows the right of defense to be exercised and rejects anticipating responsibilities before knowing the outcome of the case.

The Minister of Interior maintains his confidence in the Director General and the DAO. Both have continued to perform their duties during these weeks despite calls for resignation from the PP, Vox, and several professional associations of the Civil Guard.

This Friday's appearance will, therefore, have added political importance. González will appear before Pedraz as the head of one of the most sensitive institutions of the State and with the public backing of the Executive still intact.

The Provincial Court of Madrid reduces the case against Begoña Gómez

The Government's judicial week has also been marked by the resolution of the Provincial Court of Madrid regarding Begoña Gómez. The magistrates have confirmed that the president's wife will be tried by a popular jury for alleged crimes of influence peddling and embezzlement.

The court has excluded from the jury procedure the crimes of business corruption and misappropriation that Judge Juan Carlos Peinado had also attributed. The accusation of professional intrusion had been previously dismissed. The case, which began by examining five possible crimes, is thus concentrated on the two that the jury will have to study.

The Audiencia also has withdrawn all personal precautionary measures imposed on Gómez. It has ordered the return of her passport and has eliminated both the prohibition from leaving Spain and the obligation to appear periodically before the court. The magistrates reject that there is a risk of flight that justifies maintaining these restrictions.

The procedure will go ahead and the decision represents a setback for the defense, which sought to avoid the trial. At the same time, the resolution corrects an important part of Peinado's investigation and revokes measures that the Government had considered disproportionate since their adoption.

Moncloa maintains that Begoña Gómez is innocent and speaks of a “political cause” born from false information and complaints promoted by organizations linked to the right and far-right. The Prosecutor's Office requests acquittal, while the popular accusations maintain their petitions against the president's wife.

Luxembourg gives the Government its main victory

Against the judicial noise, the Government obtained this Thursday one of its main supports since the beginning of the legislature. The Court of Justice of the European Union declared that the amnesty law is compatible with Community law and endorsed the objective of reducing political and institutional tensions in Catalonia.

Luxembourg ruled out that the norm harms the financial interests of the Union and concluded that it also does not violate European anti-terrorism legislation. The ruling incorporates some procedural limits, especially on the deadlines imposed on judges and the automatic lifting of precautionary measures, but supports the core of the law.

Félix Bolaños defended that the ruling demonstrates that the amnesty is constitutional, European and “perfectly legitimate.” For the Executive, the ruling validates the decision to channel the Catalan conflict through dialogue and dismantles a good part of the accusations launched in recent years by PP and Vox.

The European pronouncement also does not immediately resolve the situation of Carles Puigdemont. The Supreme Court will for now maintain the national arrest warrant because its decision to exclude the former Catalan president is based on the interpretation of the crime of embezzlement and patrimonial benefit, a specific issue that the ECJ did not examine.

The discussion will continue in the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court, but the ruling allows the Government to defend that the norm agreed with the pro-independence parties is within the European legal framework.

Friday is in the hands of Mercedes González

The week ends where much of the political pressure on the Government began, in the Audiencia Nacional and around the 'Leire case'. The version offered by the DAO has rejected the alleged attempt to stop the UCO investigations, but the judge keeps the proceedings open and still has to hear the general director.

Mercedes González will have to explain her meetings, her conversations with Leire Díez and the decisions adopted after those contacts. Her statement will allow Pedraz to compare for the first time the version of the highest political official of the Civil Guard with the account prepared by the body's own investigators.

The director retains Marlaska's support and will remain in charge of the Armed Institute as the investigation progresses. This Friday she is responsible for presenting to the judge the explanations she already offered in the Senate. The last word of an especially intense judicial week for the Government will be hers.