Puente denounces Judge Peinado's "impunity" in the interrogation of Bolaños

Yesterday, Transport Minister Óscar Puente denounced the "impunity" of the judge in the Begoña Gómez case, Juan Carlos Peinado, when he questioned the Minister of the Presidency, Justice, and Parliamentary Relations, Félix Bolaños, as a witness in the case against the wife of the Prime Minister. In his opinion, his manner of questioning puts the justice system "at the level of the earth."

"This can only be understood from the deepest sense of impunity on the part of the judge," Puente denounced, in a message on the social network X. He did so after the audio recording of Bolaños' statement on April 16 at the Moncloa Palace was released, where Judge Peinado criticized him for the way he answered questions. "That the Provincial Court of Madrid is allowing this is something that perplexes me. They're going to leave the image of justice in tatters," Puente asserted.

The instructor even reproached the minister for "smiling like that" during the testimony on April 16.

During the interrogation, Judge Peinado, presiding judge of the 41st Court of Instruction in Madrid, raised his tone on several occasions, as can be heard in the audio of the statement, in which he questioned the minister regarding the appointment of Cristina Álvarez as an advisor to Begoña Gómez as a temporary employee of Moncloa.

A tense moment arose when Peinado asked Bolaños if he agreed with everything his former deputy—when he was Secretary General of the Presidency—had said a few weeks earlier about the hiring of the advisor.

“After hearing Alfredo González's statement, based on your knowledge, is there anything that doesn't correspond to reality?” the judge asks. “No, I think what I heard, it seems to me that everything corresponds to the reality of how appointments are made, what the procedures are…” the minister replies, to which the judge interrupts: “No, no, I'm not asking for your opinion, but whether the literal tenor of Alfredo González's testimony corresponds to reality.” “Yes, I think it corresponds to reality, what I heard…” the minister points out. “Do you believe it or are you sure?” Peinado insists. “I think it corresponds to reality…” the minister replies. “I ask again, do you believe it or are you sure? Well, let's see, look, beliefs are one thing and the testimony that witnesses have to give is another, and witnesses… Please don't interrupt me. The testimony that witnesses have to give is what they know, not about their beliefs,” the judge emphasizes.

Peinado insists along the same lines, reproaching him for his "evasive" answers. "You're answering me in a way that doesn't equate testimony with what is admitted in court. It's a form of evasive answering that the criminal procedure law considers a refusal to answer," the judge states. "I believe, Your Honor, that I'm not answering evasively in any way," Bolaños responds. "It's not a question of belief, it's a question of verification," Peinado insists, who at another point tells him: "Whether it's an evasive answer or not, that's not for you to decide."

Peinado even warned Bolaños that he would not rule out calling him and González for a confrontation to contrast the versions.

But perhaps the most surprising part is when, at one point during the testimony, the examining magistrate questions the minister's attitude. "I don't know why you're smiling," he asks. "Your Honor, I find your questioning very surprising, that's why I smiled," Bolaños replies, to which the judge tells him: "It must be because you're not used to judicial questioning." "Absolutely not," the minister concludes.