Miguel Ángel Rodríguez, chief of staff to the president of the Community of Madrid, appeared this Wednesday at the capital’s courts to testify as an investigated party for a crime of revealing secrets against two EL PAÍS journalists who were investigating a possible urban irregularity in the home of Isabel Díaz Ayuso and her partner and who were identified by the police. Before entering to testify, Rodríguez acknowledged that he disseminated a photo and the names of the reporters of this newspaper, but that “there was never any revelation of secrets.”
According to his version, the photo he sent to several journalists was taken by “a neighbor,” whose children were allegedly being harassed by the journalists, and who later sent it to him. Upon leaving, he retracted and clarified that the photo was given to him by Ayuso’s partner, Alberto González Amador: “I expressed myself poorly because I don’t think there are many neighbors in that building who have my phone number.” What he has denied at all times, as accused, is having obtained personal data from the Police, since he says he personally recognized the journalists.
The events under investigation occurred a little over two years ago: on March 19, 2024, the two reporters from this newspaper went to the vicinity of the home where Ayuso and her partner live to ask neighbors in the area if they remembered any renovations, despite two municipal orders to stop work that they had found on a publicly accessible urban planning portal. The matter grew over time and ended up consisting of determining whether González Amador had irregularly joined two apartments in the same building, as was later proven: a penthouse — owned at the time by his lawyer and for which they paid 5,000 euros monthly — and the apartment just below it, which the businessman bought after allegedly committing a tax fraud of 350,000 euros.
That day, the two reporters were approached by an undercover national police officer, a member of the president’s security. The agent requested their ID and press credentials. A few hours later, Ayuso’s team sent a message to various journalists with the name and photo of the EL PAÍS reporters, accompanied by the following text: “They have been harassing the president’s neighbors, including underage girls, in harassment typical of dictatorships. Everything has been reported to the National Police, but the Government delegate will support these actions. The Government delegate does not want to place permanent 24-hour surveillance on the president’s house, which is an anomaly. Also, hooded employees of eldiario.es tried to access the president’s house. Such intimidation has never been seen in a democracy.”
However, despite what was announced, no complaint was filed. This Wednesday, Rodríguez acknowledged that the journalists’ work was not criminal: “I have not reported any crime.” He also emphasized that he only became aware after the Police had identified the journalists.
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Several online media published that false information along with the photograph, the data, and without any verification. Rodríguez later admitted to this newspaper that he was the one who distributed the information. “It is a personal conversation. It is not an account of the Community,” he said. Days later, in an interview with El Mundo, he added: “Note: I revealed the identity to 18 people. No more.” This newspaper filed a lawsuit against Ayuso’s chief of staff, which was initially rejected. The Provincial Court, however, overturned the decision and ordered the reopening of the investigation, although only against Miguel Ángel Rodríguez, and not against the police officers who might have leaked this information. “It is pertinent to find out how, when, and why the journalists’ data reached the defendant and whether he indeed disclosed it,” the Court stated in its ruling. Ayuso’s chief of staff has defended that the lawsuit is a political maneuver by the PSOE, which is part of the accusations.
The matter the EL PAÍS journalists were investigating dates back to August 2022, when Amador began renovations on the apartment he bought in the Chamberí district. The businessman notified the City Council of a demolition work through a responsible declaration, but the City Council ordered a stop because Amador had informed them that he would later expand that document. The City Council warned him that it is not possible to expand responsible declarations. Nevertheless, Amador sent that second document and the administration responded with a new stop order repeating an identical text to that used in its first cessation resolution.
The works were carried out anyway and, after being revealed by the press, Más Madrid filed a complaint for urban irregularity. The City Council opened an investigation that ended in a sanction for ignoring the stop orders. However, since the City Council responded with an identical text and ignored Amador’s second request, Ayuso’s partner ended up overturning the sanction in court. José Luis Martínez Almeida’s City Council did not appeal the decision and, in November 2025, the couple ended up acquiring the penthouse they had already joined with their apartment.
The president of Madrid’s chief of staff is accused of a crime of revealing secrets. Paradoxically, the criminal offense for which former Attorney General Álvaro García Ortiz was convicted for trying to deny a rumor from the same Rodríguez. The testimony of his chief of staff caught the president of the Community of Madrid on an institutional tour in Mexico, where she defended that the Latin American country and Spain are examples of “how democracies die.” After testifying, Rodríguez is expected to cross the ocean to meet with her.