At least for a few days, from today until June 4, the epicenter of judicial life will move from Madrid to Badajoz. In the Extremadura city, the trial begins this Thursday for the alleged irregularities in the 2017 hiring of David Sánchez, brother of the current Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, by the Diputación de Badajoz. The oral hearing at the provincial court will put Sánchez and ten other defendants on trial for the alleged crimes of malfeasance and influence peddling.
Read more Here comes the wolf! Settle for a fox!
What will be determined in this process, which is expected to be highly publicized, is whether David Sánchez was hired through favoritism. According to investigations, the Diputación de Badajoz allegedly created a tailor-made position for him as coordinator of activities between music conservatories and, later, as director of the Performing Arts Office.
The story begins on May 17, 2016, when the Diputación de Badajoz decided to urgently create a senior management position, the coordinator of conservatories. It was a job that required “full dedication” and had to be performed physically and regularly in the city of Badajoz.
In October of that year, the formal proposal for the creation of the position was registered. The call for applications was published in May 2017, and in June the then president of the Diputación de Badajoz, Miguel Ángel Gallardo, formalized Sánchez’s appointment, who took office in July 2017.
His brother Pedro Sánchez had been secretary general of the PSOE until October 1, 2016. David Sánchez’s defense emphasizes that the design process of the position and the taking of office took place when Pedro Sánchez was no longer leading the PSOE and that, consequently, there could have been no favoritism.
But the investigating judge disagrees. After analyzing emails, administrative files, reports from the Central Operative Unit of the Civil Guard (UCO), and witness statements, she concluded that alleged crimes of influence peddling and administrative malfeasance may have occurred.
What is determined in this process is whether the Diputación created a tailor-made position for Sánchez’s brother
From the emails examined, it is inferred that the conservatory director, Evaristo Valentí, disagreed with the creation of a new management position. On October 13, 2016, he expressed by email his displeasure at not having been informed of the proposal, which he considered “absurd”; according to him, the coordination tasks between conservatories “were simply performed by a singing teacher.”
Read more The instrumental motion
Later, in May 2017, a “notable email,” with a link to the call for applications, was titled with an “illustrative subject”: “the big brother,” according to the case file.
For the investigating judge, it is also very striking that David Sánchez began looking for an apartment in Badajoz the day before the job interview. According to a UCO report, Sánchez wrote on the apartment rental platform Airbnb: “I am moving to work in Badajoz.” “The date is crucial as it is the day before the interview was held, without any appointment proposal having been made at all,” states the ruling of the Provincial Court of Badajoz, which dismisses the appeal filed by Sánchez’s defense against the indictment order.
The shadow of doubt also hangs over David Sánchez’s job performance, as there are indications that he did not provide his services “regularly in Badajoz nor on a full-time basis” as required by the contract. However, the defense argues that he did perform effective work.
In 2022, Sánchez’s job position was changed to head of the Performing Arts Office. The judge believes this was to disguise his real functions and to remove the incompatibility clause that weighed on the coordinator of conservatories position, since in practice Sánchez would have already disengaged from coordination to “focus mainly on the Young Opera program.”
The trial begins today with preliminary matters, which are expected to last until tomorrow, and the testimony schedule will start on Monday. It is expected to conclude on June 4, when the eleven defendants, including Sánchez, will testify. Afterwards, the Provincial Court of Badajoz will have to determine whether the job position was tailor-made for him because of who he was.
David Sánchez looked for an apartment before the interview: “I am moving to work in Badajoz”
The popular accusations –PP, Vox, Manos Limpias, Hazte Oír, Abogados Cristianos, Asociación Liberum, and Iustitia Europa– request three years in prison and 12 years of disqualification for Sánchez. The prosecution requests acquittal for all defendants.
Read more The UCO suspects Interior’s maneuvers against its agents investigating the PSOE
