The judge Juan Carlos Peinado, who is investigating Begoña Gómez for alleged crimes of influence peddling and embezzlement, maintains for this Tuesday the preliminary hearing prior to the opening of oral trial with a jury despite the defense's request to postpone it. The appearance, scheduled for 6 p.m., must be held in person for both the wife of Pedro Sánchez and her advisor, Cristina Álvarez, as established by the magistrate in his order.
Gómez's defense had asked the judge to postpone the proceeding because her lawyer cannot attend. Peinado, however, has rejected the request, considering that the investigated person can be assisted by a substitute lawyer. A decision that keeps the appearance on despite the fact that the lawyer who has handled the case will not be able to be present.
The defense has sent a new letter to the court this Tuesday to communicate that it will not resort to a substitute lawyer. Gómez's legal team argues that it is her usual lawyer who knows the content and development of the investigation in detail, and therefore rejects that another lawyer can assume her representation in a proceeding of these characteristics.
The situation also extends to Cristina Álvarez. Begoña Gómez's advisor is currently traveling and had also requested that her summons be postponed. For the moment, Peinado maintains the summons and both must appear in person at six in the afternoon.
The decision comes a few weeks before the magistrate reaches retirement age. Peinado plans to formalize his retirement on September 27, so this Tuesday's hearing is held in the final stretch of his time leading the investigation into the wife of the President of the Government. The proceeding constitutes a preliminary step to the eventual opening of an oral trial with a jury. In it, the judge must address the preliminary issues before moving towards a possible trial phase for Gómez, in a case that has once again placed Sánchez's wife at the center of political and judicial news.
The sudden summons
Begoña Gómez's lawyer, Jaime Campaner, asked Judge Juan Carlos Peinado to change the date of the hearing as it coincided with another judicial commitment in Barcelona. The magistrate rejected the request, considering that the investigated person can be assisted by another lawyer if her usual lawyer cannot attend.
In a document to which ElConstitucional.es has had access, Campaner details that he received the summons with barely a few minutes' notice and recalls that the defense had expressed its intention to participate in this last stage of the investigation. The lawyer maintains that he had already planned to travel to Barcelona this Tuesday to attend another judicial appointment.
Campaner explains that on July 22, he purchased a ticket from Palma de Mallorca to Barcelona to travel at 5:50 p.m. According to the document, this trip was organized before taking on Gómez's defense and responds to the need to attend a judicial proceeding scheduled for Wednesday morning.
The lawyer also informed the court of his willingness to attend the hearing any other afternoon this week and communicated that his return to Madrid is scheduled for Wednesday at 6:17 p.m. Despite this alternative, the summons remains.
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