The Prosecutor’s Office once again appeals Sánchez’s statement and complains that the judge is delaying the resolution of its appeals

The Public Prosecutor’s Office has once again appealed Judge Juan Carlos Peinado’s decision to take a statement from the President of the Government in person in a document in which it complains that the magistrate is delaying the proceedings so that the Madrid Court can resolve the appeals that the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the defence are presenting against the decisions of the investigating judge before he carries them out.

The prosecutor in the case begins his brief by stating that he is “aware of the scant impact” that it will have on the testimony of the President of the Government tomorrow. And, in this sense, he takes the opportunity to complain about Peinado’s slowness in informing the parties, asking them to take a position, rejecting them and allowing the defence and the Prosecutor’s Office to go to the higher court.

“If the time and margin to appeal in a real and effective manner was already narrow, the fact of not carrying out and promoting the necessary actions to process the aforementioned appeals in the following days, leads them to be ineffective, as the celebration of the act to which it refers is imminent,” writes the prosecutor.

Last week, the Madrid Court set September 30 to deliberate and resolve on the nuclear appeal of the Prosecutor’s Office and the defense, which asks the higher court to remind Peinado to what extent it can investigate, something that has exceeded without foundation, they claim. That appeal was filed two weeks before the one corresponding to Sánchez’s statement. The Madrid Court resolves in the order of entry, so it will not be until at least October when it pronounces on Sánchez’s summons, which will inevitably take place tomorrow Tuesday.

“In our opinion, we reiterate, the diligence is not necessary for the investigation, it is not useful, nor is it pertinent or necessary, considering the purpose that it is stated to pursue. And that, in any case, as a subsidiary matter, the written declaration would be appropriate in accordance with the provisions of article 412.2 LECRIM,” writes the prosecutor. Both he and the defense consider that Sánchez’s declaration is inseparable from his condition as president of the Government and, therefore, must be made in writing.

Furthermore, the Prosecutor’s Office is surprised that the first appeal filed on this matter before Peinado was resolved by a substitute judge, last Friday, when the judge could have ruled personally on this very Monday, when he returned from the days off he had taken.

“It also seems logical that, if the judicial decision on the form of declaration of the President of the Government is issued by the titular judge, it is he himself who decides on the specific request made by the former, in which the nuance between one and another way of declaring is linked to the specific circumstances of the facts that are said to be investigated and the alleged crime in question (knowledge of the facts by reason of his position), assuming that he is in a better position and has greater knowledge of the matter to face the decision, since it is a relevant question and not a mere formality,” he added.