Judge Juan Carlos Peinado has summoned Begoña Gómez, wife of Pedro Sánchez, to appear this Tuesday at the preliminary hearing necessary to open an oral trial against the partner of the Prime Minister. The judge, who announced his decision this Monday, has scheduled the hearing for 6:00 p.m. this Tuesday. Defense sources believe the appearance could be postponed, as some parties find it difficult to attend due to the short notice given.
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Through a brief two-page document dated this Monday, Peinado explains that he has received the defense briefs submitted by Begoña Gómez — where she claims her acquittal and denies influencing any authority to create the extraordinary chair she co-directed at the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM) — and by her assistant at La Moncloa, Cristina Álvarez, who is also being prosecuted. Therefore, he proceeds to summon them at the “earliest possible day and time” for the preliminary hearing required by law to send them to trial.
The Jury Court Law provides that, once the defendants have submitted their respective defense briefs, the instructor sets this preliminary hearing for the parties to express their views on the “appropriateness of opening the trial.” This hearing may not take place if all defendants request so, and there is the possibility of carrying out proceedings (such as witness statements), but Peinado has rejected all proposals — although, according to regulations, more can be raised during the hearing itself. In fact, in the resolution notified this Monday, the judge dismissed Gómez’s lawyer’s request to question José Manuel Ruano De La Fuente, Associate Professor of the Department of Political Science at UCM and co-director of that extraordinary chair of Competitive Social Transformation under suspicion. “He is not considered essential to decide on the opening of the oral trial,” the instructor responded to the defense.
This is the second preliminary hearing held in the case opened against the wife of the Prime Minister and leader of the PSOE. Last June, the judge already convened this hearing and then ordered the opening of a jury trial against Begoña Gómez for four crimes (influence peddling, corruption in business, embezzlement, and misappropriation). However, as the Madrid Provincial Court partially corrected this in July and forced him to withdraw two of those charges (corruption in business and misappropriation), Peinado is now forced to take this step again for the only two crimes upheld by the higher court (embezzlement and influence peddling).
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Although the parties can request the case to be dismissed at the preliminary hearing, the defenses do not expect Peinado to change the script he has written since taking over the investigation in April 2024 following a complaint from the pseudo-union Manos Limpias. The judge will present to the popular jury the thesis that Begoña Gómez took advantage of her status as the Prime Minister’s wife to extend a network of influence to advance her professional career at the Complutense University of Madrid, where she co-directed an extraordinary chair — within which software was developed thanks to the support of companies such as Google and Indra.
“The mere family relationship by marital bond with the highest authority of the Government of the nation, in certain contexts and circumstances, such as those analyzed here, can exert effective moral pressure for the purposes of constituting the crime of influence peddling,” the Madrid Court emphasized when validating that part of the process. Furthermore, according to the investigating judge, Sánchez’s partner used the support of her assistant at La Moncloa to help her with her private work.
The ultra-Catholic association Hazte Oír, which leads the group of popular accusations, has already announced it will request 13 years in prison for Begoña Gómez in a future jury trial. Meanwhile, the Complutense University, which is represented as an injured party, claims 113,000 euros. And the Public Prosecutor’s Office has indicated it will request acquittal for both Sánchez’s wife and Cristina Álvarez.
