Spain’s attorney general, Álvaro García Ortiz, has been found guilty of leaking confidential material from a tax fraud investigation involving the partner of Madrid opposition leader Isabel Díaz Ayuso. In an unprecedented ruling against someone in the country’s top prosecutorial post, the Supreme Court disqualified Mr García Ortiz from holding office for two years and ordered fines and moral damages.
The court’s published decision imposed a €7,200 fine and €10,000 in moral damages to Alberto Gómez Amador, the partner who remains under investigation. Some early accounts aggregated the penalties differently, reporting around €7,300 in total fines. The ruling was released without a detailed explanatory opinion.
Mr Gómez Amador brought a private prosecution after press reports in March 2024 suggested prosecutors had offered him a plea deal — a report that was later countered by other outlets. Prosecutors say Mr García Ortiz asked a subordinate for communications from the case and leaked them to at least one journalist on 13 March 2024; those counter-leaks then made clear that Mr Gómez Amador’s lawyer had discussed the possibility of a plea bargain and that his client might admit guilt.
Mr García Ortiz has denied being the source of any leaks but acknowledged using material from the investigation to draft a press release on 14 March clarifying that the prosecution service had never agreed a plea bargain with Mr Gómez Amador. In his defence he said:
“The truth is not leaked; the truth is defended.”
The case has intensified political tensions in Spain. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez — who appointed Mr García Ortiz — publicly defended the attorney general during the trial, saying he considered him “innocent.” Opposition leaders, including Alberto Núñez Feijóo of the People’s Party, said Mr Sánchez bears political responsibility and accused the government of abusing power and undermining judicial independence.
The trial took place against a backdrop of broader friction between the government and parts of the judiciary. Members of Mr Sánchez’s family, including his wife and his brother, have faced separate investigations, and the prime minister has accused elements of the judiciary of engaging in “lawfare” to dislodge his left-wing coalition.
Mr García Ortiz resisted calls to resign and was defended in court by the state solicitor’s office. Government officials said they "respect the verdict but do not agree with it" and indicated a new head of the prosecution service would be appointed within days. Observers say the case will have lasting implications for Spain’s prosecution service and for the political battle between the government and judicial institutions.
