Spanish Prime Minister caught lying about investigation into his wife ━ The European Conservative

Recently released documents confirm that Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez knew that his wife, Begoña Gómez, was under official investigation in April when he informed the nation in a letter that he could resign over the matter.

At the time, the Spanish press had spread the story that Gómez was being investigated for corruption, alleging that she had abused her influence as the Prime Minister’s wife to obtain public funds for certain companies and individuals. Despite the press reports, Sánchez denied in his letter that his wife was being officially investigated.

On April 24, Sánchez wrote an open letter to the citizens of Spain, stating that in light of the allegations, he would abstain from public appearances for five days to consider whether to continue at the head of the country’s government.

After his five-day reflection period – which gave his supporters time to show their support for the prime minister – Sánchez, unsurprisingly, announced that he had decided to stay in office.

A few weeks later, on May 20, part of the investigation report on Goméz was leaked to the left-wing newspaper. The Paisknown for his pro-government bias, although the judge had imposed a secrecy ban on the documents. Just days before the leak, Sánchez was scheduled to appear in Congress to face the usual questions to the prime minister. It was clear that he would be grilled by the opposition about the situation surrounding his wife. One leaked paragraph said that the Guardia Civil, the police force conducting the investigation, had found no evidence of Goméz’s crime of influence trafficking.

A week later, the judge lifted the secrecy of the case and allowed all reports and verdicts to be made public through the press.

These documents include a letter from Goméz’s lawyer to the judge confirming his client’s situation. The full text of the police report also shows that investigators did not find clear evidence of influence in some of the allegations listed in the complaint filed by Manos Limpias.

However, in other cases mentioned in the complaint, they saw clear signs of possible crimes. The judge also argued that a comprehensive investigation could reveal more details of possible criminal activity related to all the situations described in the complaint. The order to investigate was also upheld by a second court.

Albert Nuñez Feijóo, leader of the centre-right Partido Popular (PP) party, accused Sánchez in Congress on Wednesday of lying to the public and described the prime minister’s reflection period as “five days to organise his procedural and political strategy”.

On Sunday, the PP organised a protest rally in which 80,000 people took to the streets of Madrid to demand that Sánchez call new elections. It is unlikely that such demands will die down any time soon.