On Thursday, November 20th, Spain’s Supreme Court announced it had convicted the country’s top prosecutor for leaking confidential legal information against the conservative opposition.
In a fresh blow to Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, the conviction of Álvaro García Ortiz—himself appointed by Sánchez’s government in 2022—increases the pressure stemming from several legal problems that have embarrassed the minority left-wing coalition.
The court said García Ortiz will now be banned from his post for two years, fined around €7,300 and pay €10,000 in damages to complainant Alberto González Amador, the partner of right-wing figurehead Isabel Díaz Ayuso.
In 2024, media reported that González Amador had proposed a plea deal with the public prosecutor’s office in which he would admit to alleged tax offences in exchange for avoiding a trial and jail.
Ayuso, the leader of the Madrid region who has been tipped for a national leadership role, and her conservative Popular Party (PP), accused García Ortiz of leaking case files about González Amador to damage her. González Amador had demanded four years in jail for García Ortiz and €300,000 for “the moral damage caused.”
García Ortiz, the first serving attorney general to go on trial in Spanish history, denied the accusations during the proceedings in the Supreme Court this month. His legal team presented him as the victim of a campaign by the Madrid region’s government to distract attention from González Amador’s legal woes and protect Ayuso.
Separate corruption investigations targeting the prime minister’s wife, brother, and two former Socialist heavyweights have threatened to topple Sánchez, who came to power in 2018 promising to clean up Spanish politics.
The PP has repeatedly called for Sánchez’ resignation and a snap general election, accusing his minority government of widespread corruption. Sánchez has denied the graft allegations against his wife and brother, calling them part of a “smear campaign” set in motion by the right.
