Ayuso’s Chief of Staff Admits Sharing EL PAÍS Journalists’ Data. Madrid authorities are investigating actions by Ayuso’s chief of staff, who shared the photos and names of EL PAÍS journalists. He claims he received the image from Ayuso’s partner. Police say they did not provide him with any personal data.
In Madrid, an investigation is ongoing into the disclosure of personal data of journalists who worked on a story about possible violations in the renovation of the regional president’s residence. Miguel Ángel Rodríguez, chief of staff to the president of the Madrid Community, was summoned for questioning in court. He confirmed that he had shared photos and names of two EL PAÍS staff members with his colleagues but insists that he did not reveal any confidential information, and that he received the photo not from the police but from Ayuso’s partner, Alberto González Amador.
Incident details
The events that led to the investigation occurred in the spring of 2024. Two EL PAÍS journalists visited the home where Ayuso and her partner live to ask neighbors whether they had noticed construction, despite official bans. At that moment, they were stopped by an undercover national police officer, who asked for their identification and press credentials. Later, Ayuso’s team sent out a message to other journalists with the names and a photograph of the reporters, accompanied by accusations of “harassing the president’s neighbors, including minors,” and claimed that everything had been reported to the police. However, it turned out that no official complaint had been filed.
Rodríguez’s position and the course of the investigation
Rodríguez insists that he personally recognized the journalists and did not receive any personal data from the police. According to him, the photo was given to him by Ayuso’s partner, not by a random neighbor as he previously claimed. He also emphasized that he did not see any criminal intent in the journalists’ actions and did not file any complaints against them. Investigators are checking whether laws on data protection and disclosure of information were violated.
Context and developments
The story began in 2022, when González Amador started renovating an apartment in the Chamberí district. Despite two municipal orders to halt the work, reconstruction continued. After press reports and a complaint by Más Madrid, the city authorities fined Amador, but later a court overturned the penalty due to procedural errors. In 2025, the couple purchased a combined penthouse, which became the subject of disputes.
Meanwhile, high-profile cases involving officials and police officers continue in Spain. For example, it was recently revealed that four police officers admitted to surveilling Bárcenas’s wife without court authorization—more details can be found in the article on the details of the police’s secret Kitchen operations.
Authorities’ response and next steps
While Ayuso’s chief of staff was giving testimony, the president herself was on an official visit to Mexico, making statements about the state of democracy. It is expected that after the interrogation, Rodriguez will join her abroad. Attention to the case is also heightened by the fact that a former Attorney General of Spain was previously convicted under a similar article for attempting to dispute false information that had originated from Rodriguez himself.
