Does Judge Juan Carlos Peinado deserve to be sanctioned? That question has divided judges. The permanent commission of the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) met yesterday morning to debate the five complaints against Peinado, the investigating judge in the case of Begoña Gómez, wife of the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez.
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After three hours of deliberation, the permanent commission, the main governing body of judges, failed to reach an agreement on this issue and decided to meet again “in the coming days” to continue debating the matter.
The promoter of disciplinary action, Ricardo Conde, has reported in favor of archiving the complaints
An issue that has been controversial from the outset. On June 21, judges already considered the possibility of sanctioning Peinado in an extraordinary meeting. The meeting took place after the magistrate, head of seat number 41 of the instruction section of the Madrid Court of First Instance, issued an order agreeing to impose precautionary measures against Gómez, such as the withdrawal of her passport, the prohibition of traveling abroad, and the obligation for the Prime Minister’s wife to appear every fifteen days in court.
But it was not the harshness of these measures, which the Provincial Court of Madrid already withdrew last week, that led to the opening of preliminary proceedings against Peinado. The magistrate stated in that order that the fact that Gómez is guarded by State security forces did not guarantee that the president’s wife would not flee abroad. This irritated the Unified Police Union, which filed a complaint against the judge.
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Already in that first urgent meeting, held on a Sunday, of the permanent commission, composed of eight magistrates, an agreement was impossible. The following Monday, the body met again, but things remained tied, and in the end, a Solomon-like decision was made: to send the file to the promoter of disciplinary action, Ricardo Conde, so that he could decide whether Peinado’s statements about the police deserved a sanction or not.
Conde studied the files and was in favor of archiving that complaint. He also proposed closing four other preliminary proceedings opened against Peinado as a result of complaints filed by the Minister of Justice, Félix Bolaños; the Más Madrid municipal group and socialist deputy Pedro Guillermo Hita; the advisor to the Prime Minister’s wife Begoña Gómez, Cristina Álvarez, and a private individual.
Despite Conde’s proposal to archive, there was no agreement yesterday either. The permanent commission has decided to meet again to try to find an answer to the question of whether Peinado should or should not be sanctioned for the alleged commission of a serious offense in the exercise of his duties, which can be punished with a fine of 501 to 6,000 euros, temporary suspension from duties, or forced transfer. The only thing that can now worry Peinado, who retires in September, is the possible fine.
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