Spain’s Top Prosecutor May Face Trial Over Leaked Criminal Case
The Supreme Court says Attorney General Álvaro García Ortiz may have illegally shared confidential files about a businessman linked to a leading opposition figure.
The Supreme Court says Attorney General Álvaro García Ortiz may have illegally shared confidential files about a businessman linked to a leading opposition figure.
Spain’s attorney general could soon stand trial after the Supreme Court ruled there is sufficient evidence he breached judicial secrecy in a politically charged leaks case involving Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s inner circle.
Supreme Court judge Ángel Luis Hurtado said on Monday that Attorney General Álvaro García Ortiz may have unlawfully disclosed confidential details from an investigation into businessman Alberto González Amador, the partner of Isabel Díaz Ayuso, the conservative leader of the Madrid region. The case has intensified scrutiny of Sánchez’s minority left-wing government.
In March 2023, Spanish media published a draft plea deal between Amador and the prosecutor’s office. The businessman, whose company profited during the Covid-19 pandemic, offered to admit to tax fraud charges in exchange for avoiding trial. The leak sparked accusations from the conservative Popular Party (PP) that Sánchez’s allies orchestrated it to damage Ayuso.
Judge Hurtado wrote that Ortiz gave “publicity that should not have been given” by leaking a “confidential” email to the press and suggested he acted “as a result of indications received from the presidency of the government.” All parties now have 10 days to file comments or appeals before a decision on whether to refer Ortiz to a criminal court.
Ortiz, appointed by Sánchez in 2022, denies any involvement in the leak. Justice Minister Félix Bolaños expressed “full confidence” in the prosecutor and rejected claims of government interference, saying, “That never happened, and I deeply regret that the Supreme Court would make such a serious claim without any supporting evidence.”
The investigation adds to mounting pressure on Sánchez, as multiple probes target figures in his administration. On Sunday, tens of thousands protested in Madrid at a PP-organised rally calling for early elections. “It’s time for the prosecutor—and whoever gave him his orders—to go,” PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo wrote on X.
