Spain: Attorney General banned from holding office
Spain's Attorney General Álvaro García Ortiz has been barred from holding public office for two years and sentenced to pay a fine of 7,200 euros for leaking confidential information. He must also pay 10,000 euros in damages to businessman Alberto González Amador, the partner of Madrid Regional President Isabel Díaz Ayuso (PP). Ortiz was found guilty of leaking an email that incriminated Amador.
Unprecedented institutional shock
El País sees the judicial system as a whole discredited:
“Unfortunately, the court was unable to reach a consensus among the seven judges, five of whom are conservative and two progressive. ... The division and impression of a hastily made decision have severely undermined the image of the judiciary. This case has had a clear political dimension from the outset. ... The criminal conviction of a sitting attorney general is an unprecedented institutional shock in Spain. Perhaps a resignation would have cushioned the impact of this storm, but in any case those who are celebrating a political victory today should consider the price that the institutions will have to pay for it.”
Verdict against political subservience
El Mundo congratulates the judges:
“The ruling is an expression of the strength of the Supreme Court. ... In the face of alternative narratives from media outlets that claim to be 'of reference', and despite continuous government interference, the judiciary has taken action. ... The government has always defended the attorney general unreservedly, while at the same time portraying the judiciary as a predominantly right-wing body. ... Álvaro García Ortiz is now leaving office, convicted of a serious offence linked to his subservience to the interests of the government. This conviction therefore goes beyond him as an individual.”
An outdated concept of confidentiality
eldiario.es author Irene Lozano argues that no offence was committed:
“I have serious doubts about the concept of confidentiality in its current form. Information disseminated via digital media is reproduced and made available simultaneously. The infamous [leaked] email existed in several places. Can information to which 600 people have access still be considered confidential? ... In the analogue world, the document would have been locked away in a drawer. But in the digital information sphere, there are no drawers. ... The five conservative judges found [Álvaro García Ortiz] guilty based on a radically outdated legal concept of confidentiality. ... The Supreme Court convicted him of violating a secret that does not even exist.”