Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has been called for interrogation in the investigation into possible influence trafficking and business corruption by his wife, Begoña Gómez.
This is the first time in Spain’s history that the spouse of the prime minister has been under a criminal investigation and the first time that a prime minister has been called on as a witness of a criminal investigation.
The judge who heads the Investigative Court number 41 of Madrid, Juan Carlos Peinado, issued the summons last Friday, July 19. The judge accepted the request made by the right-wing nationalist party VOX to call on Sánchez to testify in the investigation. VOX is one of several groups that have filed complaints against Gómez following almost a year of media investigations into her business practices, much of which were carried out from the offices of the Moncloa, the official residence of Spain’s prime minister.
The questioning by the judge will take place at the Moncloa instead of a courtroom, as Spanish law permits the measure for people holding certain public offices. The judge has scheduled it for 11 a.m. on July 30th.
The summons of Sánchez as a witness came on the same day Gómez appeared before Peinado for questioning but refused to answer any questions, taking advantage of her right under Spanish law not to testify. Her lawyer Antonio Camacho claimed to Spanish media at the end of the appearance that his client did not see sufficient guarantees in the judicial procedure to justify giving testimony.
Spanish media have been publishing journalistic investigations into Gómez’s activities that have pointed to possible misuse of both her closeness to the prime minister and her position at the University of Complutense to enrich herself and her business associates.
While Sánchez has continually proclaimed his wife’s complete innocence, neither she nor Sánchez have offered any further explanations, not even in court, so far.
When the formal investigation into Gómez started last May, Sánchez took five days of “reflection” to consider whether he should step down from the premiership. Not surprisingly, he decided to remain at the helm of Spain’s executive branch. He has continually called the accusations against Gómez a smear campaign by the “far right.”
Sánchez will be the third witness called in the case, following Gómez’ close associate Juan Carlos Barrabés and the rector of the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), Joaquín Goyache, both of whom the judge then also implicated in the charges.
Sánchez is facing multiple corruption cases involving both family members and current and former cabinet members in what is increasingly looking like a network of corruption around the prime minister.
