A high-profile investigation continues in Madrid over the leak of a letter written by the lawyer of the partner of Madrid regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso. This time, former leaders of the Madrid branch of the PSOE — Juan Lobato and Pilar Sánchez Acera — have taken center stage. Both appeared as witnesses before the Supreme Court and firmly denied the allegation that they had received the controversial document directly from the country’s Attorney General.
The court hearing focused on clarifying how, in March 2024, politicians had come into possession of a letter in which the lawyer for businessman Alberto González Amador admitted to committing tax offenses. This leak prompted accusations against Álvaro García Ortiz, who at that time was serving as Attorney General. Investigators tried to prove that he was the one who handed the document to government representatives and socialist politicians.
However, during the hearing, Pilar Sánchez Acera, who at the time held a senior position in the government administration, stated that she had received an image of the letter not from La Moncloa staff or the prosecution, but from a journalist. She forwarded the screenshot to Juan Lobato, then head of Madrid’s PSOE branch. Lobato later officially notarized this message exchange to prove he was not involved in the leak.
Party crisis and political fallout
The publication of the correspondence between Lobato and Sánchez Acera sparked an uproar within the regional branch of the Socialists. Soon after, Lobato was forced to resign, and the investigation gained new momentum. The Supreme Court judge considered expanding the case to include the regional government administration, but ultimately dropped that line of inquiry after questioning key witnesses.
During the proceedings, the defense tried to prove that the attorney general’s actions were prompted by instructions from the government, but this version could not be substantiated. The judge repeatedly reminded the court that such claims had already been dismissed by the appeals court, yet the prosecution insisted on their theory, searching for new leads in the witness testimonies.
Courtroom arguments and new revelations in the case
Questions to Lobato and Sánchez Acera focused not only on the source of the letter but also on possible coordination between politicians and the government. Both witnesses stressed they had not received any direct orders or instructions, insisting their actions were part of routine political work. Lobato even presented the document at a session of the Madrid Assembly, explaining that he did so in response to the breaking news story.
Attempts by the prosecution to link the leak to a targeted attack on Ayuso through her partner’s legal troubles were unsuccessful. Witness testimonies did not allow the court to conclude that the attorney general was involved in passing the letter to the socialists or the government. As a result, the key episode in the case remains without direct evidence, and the investigation has once again reached a dead end.
