Pedro Sanchez to the investigator

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez will testify before an appeals investigator on July 30 in the investigation into allegations of corruption and undue influence against his wife, Begoña Goumet, a case that has rocked the government for weeks.

The Madrid court said in a statement to the judge that the appeals investigator, Juan Carlos Peinado, will hear the head of government “on July 30 at 11 a.m. as a witness” at the Moncloa Palace, the official residence of the head of government.

The Socialist leader, who has said since the start of the case that his wife did nothing wrong and that they were the target of “strategic harassment,” will have to testify about the alleged undue influence. “The possible elements that constitute this crime must be investigated,” the Peinado judges ruled in his ruling.

“Sanchez has not given an explanation to Congress, he has not given an explanation to the media: he has to take it to the judge,” Borja Simper, spokesman for the right-wing People’s Party, the largest opposition party, told RTVE television.

He continued: “We hope that the rule of law will succeed… No one is above the law, not even the prime minister or his entourage, and all political officials must understand that.”

“We have always said that we will do everything in our power and use all available means to put an end to the most corrupt government in history,” said Santiago Abascal, head of the far-right Vox party.

The announcement of Pedro Sanchez’s summons comes as Begoña Gomet asserted her right to remain silent on Friday when she was summoned by the judiciary, with the defense stating that the case, which began with a lawsuit filed by a group of people far from the right, has “no reason to exist.”

Her silence was strongly criticised by the PP, as well as by Vox, which spoke of an “insult to the Spanish people” and asked Sánchez to go himself and explain the matter to the judge.

Why is Pedro Sanchez’s wife a suspect?

Pedro Sánchez’s wife is suspected of using her husband’s office in the context of her business dealings – in particular with Juan Carlos Barrabes, a Spanish businessman whose companies were in negotiations for state patronage.

The investigation against her was launched after a lawsuit was filed by Manos Limpias (Clean Hands), a far-right group that said the investigation was based on newspaper articles. A second organization, Hazte oir (Make You Heard), later joined the lawsuit.

Testifying today before Judge Peinado, Barabés, who teaches in a building run by Begoña Gomet at the Complutense University of Madrid, admitted that he met Sánchez’s wife five or six times in Montclos, two of them in the presence of the prime minister.

The businessman, who was investigated in the context of this case, had received letters of recommendation from Ms. Gommet for invitations to submit bids worth millions of euros. He told the judge that these meetings were limited to questions related to innovation, according to a judicial source.

At the start of the investigation in late April, Pedro Sanchez surprised everyone by suspending his activities for five days, saying he was considering resigning. Since then, he has not stopped denouncing the case, which has been fueled by the “right-wing and far-right” media.

The prosecution, seeing no evidence, requested that the investigation be shelved at the end of April. But Judge Peinado rejected this request, even though the militia report concluded that there was no wrongdoing on the part of Ms. Gomez.

The case, which has been the focus of opposition criticism, prompted Pedro Sánchez to announce a “new democratic” law aimed at what he said was combating disinformation. The plan, which has been criticised by the opposition, is due to be debated in parliament in the coming weeks.