The Supreme Court of Spain has delivered its ruling in the case of the country’s Attorney General, Álvaro García Ortiz, finding him guilty of breaching confidentiality. He has been sentenced to a two-year suspension from professional practice. Although the verdict has already been announced, the full text has not yet been published, and the details underlying the decision remain unknown.
The spotlight was on a press release issued by the Madrid prosecutor’s office. This document became the starting point for the investigation that led to the court case. During the inquiry, confusion arose over what exactly was under investigation: the case concerned the publication of confidential information both in an email sent by lawyer Alberto González Amador and in the official statement from the prosecutor’s office, which was intended to refute rumors spreading among the associates of Isabel Díaz Ayuso.
How a press release sparked a criminal case
It was the publication of the press release by the Madrid prosecutor’s office that became the basis for a complaint, which ultimately led to court proceedings against García Ortiz. The case was initially heard in the High Court of Madrid, but after the Attorney General himself took responsibility for drafting the contested document, the materials were transferred to the Supreme Court.
The judicial panel handling the case initially found no signs of disclosing classified information in the press release, since all data mentioned was already publicly available. However, during the investigation, the focus shifted to an email sent on February 2, 2024, in which the lawyer admitted that his client had committed two tax offenses.
Investigation and Evidence Gathering
As part of the investigation, the judge ordered searches and the seizure of electronic devices belonging to García Ortiz himself and the head of the Madrid prosecutor’s office, Pilar Rodríguez, who was also implicated in the case. Despite these measures, no direct evidence of a leak was found. The investigation then widened, with officials trying to determine how the tax file ended up in the hands of a Spanish media outlet.
The proceedings established that the press release itself did not constitute a crime, but, when considered together with the possible disclosure of the email, could be seen as a breach of confidentiality. Prosecutors maintained that the attorney general deliberately shared the contents of the email for use in an official statement, arguing that the information had already ceased to be confidential.
Legal Nuances and the Court’s Position
According to Article 417 of the Spanish Penal Code, an official who discloses secrets learned in the course of duty is subject to punishment. Although a year ago the Supreme Court stated that a press release does not constitute a crime, the current ruling opens the door to treating the publication and the leak of the letter as a single unlawful act.
García Ortiz has acknowledged from the beginning that he was the one who prepared the controversial press release, but his involvement in transmitting the email was not proven. The final court ruling is expected to place even greater emphasis on the press release itself rather than the email leak, a prospect that has already sparked heated debates within the legal community.
