Pilar Sánchez Acera Testifies in Supreme Court Over Controversial Email in Ayuso Case
Pilar Sánchez Acera, a former advisor at Moncloa, gave her testimony this Wednesday in the Supreme Court regarding the case against the Attorney General of the State, Álvaro García Ortiz. She asserted that a controversial email from the defense of Alberto González Amador, one of the supporters of Madrid’s president Isabel Díaz Ayuso, reached her through the press, and she subsequently forwarded it to the former leader of Madrid's PSOE, Juan Lobato, without any directive from Moncloa.
Sources confirm that Sánchez Acera appeared in court as part of the proceedings examining the alleged revelation of secrets led by Judge Ángel Hurtado against the Attorney General and Madrid’s chief provincial prosecutor, Pilar Rodríguez. In her testimony, Sánchez Acera clarified that she has no connections to either the head of the Public Ministry or other prosecutors, which she said ruled out any implication that the email was intended to push for a criminal agreement acknowledging the facts behind the tax crimes being investigated.
At the time, she was serving as the chief of staff for Óscar López, who was working under Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. Sánchez Acera noted that she received the email from the press and forwarded it solely as a strategic maneuver aimed at enabling Lobato to effectively utilize it in a control session scheduled for the Madrid Assembly on the same day. She emphasized that her actions were consistent with her role in the Madrid PSOE, clarifying that she acted independently without instructions from Moncloa to disseminate the email.
This testimony comes as part of a broader investigation into the trajectory of the email dated February 2, 2024, which appeared in the online outlet ElPlural on March 14, 2024. Judge Hurtado deemed her testimony necessary to elucidate how the email circulated among various individuals leading up to its public exposure.
Months prior to Sánchez Acera’s testimony, Lobato had already been questioned in the same case. He claimed that it was Sánchez Acera who forwarded the email to him. On that occasion, Lobato voluntarily surrendered his mobile phone and a notarized record of its contents to ensure that the Civil Guard's Central Operational Unit (UCO) could validate both the information and the email's context.
As the case unfolds, the implications of this testimony could have significant ramifications for political dynamics in Madrid and the forthcoming inquiries regarding the Attorney General's conduct.
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