Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez invoked his right not to testify before a judge who went to his official residence in Madrid, Moncloa, for a scheduled interview as part of an investigation into corruption allegations against his wife, lawyers said on Tuesday. ALSO READ: Pedro Sánchez to testify in corruption inquiry against his wife on 30 July.
Under Spanish law, one can refuse to answer questions in a case affecting close family members, including spouses.
Hours later, the government’s legal officers filed a complaint against the judge, Carlos Peinado, ‘in defence of the institution of the presidency’, government spokeswoman Pilar Alegría told the media.
Socialist PM Sánchez was not obliged to testify against his wife under Spanish law.
‘The hearing lasted exactly two minutes,’ Antonio Camacho, the lawyer for Sánchez’s wife Begoña Gómez, told reporters outside the residence, adding that Sánchez was ‘absolutely calm’.
Gómez also invoked her right to remain silent under questioning by the judge earlier this month. ALSO READ: Spanish PM’s wife, Begoña Gómez, declines to testify in corruption case.
A legal activist group called Manos Limpias, or ‘Clean Hands’, has alleged that Sánchez’s wife used her position to influence business deals. Many of the group’s previous cases have been linked to right-wing and far-right causes targeting left-leaning politicians. Most of them never succeed.
Peinado, who refused Sánchez’s request to submit a written testimony, was the first judge ever to enter Moncloa and take a statement from a sitting prime minister. A public prosecutor and a lawyer from the far-right Vox party also joined the questioning.
‘They have come to record a hoax with a clear objective, which is to erode the image of the president of the government on the basis of a no-case,’ Alegría said, adding that the government is ‘confident and calm’.
Sánchez had previously asked to testify in writing, as allowed under Spanish law for top government officials, but Peinado rejected the request, arguing he would quiz him in his role as Gómez’s spouse.
The lawsuit filed by Spain’s state legal services argues the judge and others may have committed ‘criminal acts’ in his summons by not allowing Sánchez to testify in writing as requested, according to the complaint.
The lawsuit ‘is not a frontal attack on the judiciary’, the document said. ‘On the contrary, it is an expression of confidence in the judiciary, which alone is capable of putting an end to an abuse, in this case a judicial abuse attributable to one of the more than 5,000 judges who exercise their functions in Spain.’
‘You cannot separate one person into two and claim that you are going to question him as the spouse, when what determines the subject of the investigation … is the fact that the husband of the person under investigation is the head of government,’ the lawsuit stated.
Sánchez has called the case a ‘smear campaign’ aimed at damaging the left-wing coalition government led by his Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE).
Spain’s Public Prosecutors’ office recommended the probe be thrown out, but a provincial court ruled that the lower-court judge could continue the investigation. Peinado will either throw out the allegations or recommend that the case go to trial.
After the probe was launched, Sánchez stunned the nation by saying in an April open letter published on social media that he would contemplate stepping down for what he called the ‘attack without precedent’ against his wife. After five days of silence, Sánchez said he had decided to remain in office. ALSO READ: Pedro Sánchez announces his decision to continue as Spanish prime minister.
Earlier this year, Spain’s government watchdog on conflicts of interest tossed out a complaint made by the right-wing People’s Party (PP) against Sánchez alleging that Gómez had influenced her husband in a decision related to an airline.
Gómez, 49, does not hold public office and maintains a low profile. She studied marketing and has been involved with fundraising projects and non-governmental organisations.
ALSO READ: Spanish prosecutors question credibility of corruption investigation against PM’s wife.
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