Spain's Attorney General convicted and refuses to resign

García Ortiz convicted: the Attorney General defying the Supreme Court

Can someone convicted of a willful crime continue to serve as the Attorney General? In Spain, apparently so. Álvaro García Ortiz has been found guilty for his actions in the case surrounding Isabel Díaz Ayuso's partner, but he refuses to step down, and the Government, far from removing him, seems prepared to support him. This judicial-political saga has added a new chapter.

The facts: a verdict that divides opinion

The origin of the case lies in the indictment of Alberto González Amador, partner of Ayuso, for tax fraud and forgery. In that context, the Fiscalía General (the Attorney General's Office)—headed by García Ortiz—allegedly leaked case data to the press to damage the Madrid President's inner circle. The Supreme Court, led by Judge Ángel Hurtado, disagreed: the high court ruled that there was a breach of secrecy and prevarication (misconduct in office). The conviction has arrived, but the Attorney General has clung to his position, arguing that the sentence is not final and that he will appeal.

The paradox is significant: the same judge who in 2017 opposed convicting the PP (People's Party) as a beneficiary in the Gürtel case—a ruling that ended the motion of no confidence that brought Sánchez to Moncloa—is now the one investigating and convicting the Attorney General. History, to say the least, has ironic undertones.

Reaction from the prosecutor and the Government: no resignation, no self-criticism

Far from accepting responsibility, García Ortiz has dismissed the conviction as a "hoax" and insisted his actions were correct. The Government, for its part, remains silent, but rumors of a possible preventive pardon are spreading rapidly. In online discussions, some remind us that Sánchez already has a pardon prepared, while others suggest they will appeal to the Constitutional Court and, if necessary, to Strasbourg. Meanwhile, the Attorney General continues working from his office on Calle Fortuny, first indicted, and now convicted.

What happens next? The political consequences

The conviction of García Ortiz is no minor matter: it jeopardizes the Ministerio Fiscal (the Public Prosecution Service), a key pillar of the Rule of Law. If the Supreme Court upholds the sentence, the Attorney General could lose his status as a prosecutor due to a willful crime, according to Article 32 of the Estatuto Orgánico (the Organic Statute of the Judiciary). But first, the Government must decide whether to keep him or dismiss him. This is the dilemma: Sánchez needs a sympathetic Attorney General to protect himself from other cases looming over his administration, such as the Koldo case or the spying on pro-independence figures.

The most painful aspect, according to some analyses, is not the conviction itself, but that while the Attorney General faces justice, Ayuso's chief of staff has admitted to lying in court without facing consequences. The sense that justice has a double standard is spreading.

The conclusion is hardly a surprise: the media left, which so often decries corruption within the PP, now maintains a deathly silence or, worse, justifies the unjustifiable. The conviction of García Ortiz will go down in history as a milestone of institutional degradation, but it likely won't be the last. Meanwhile, the country carries on with a convicted Attorney General and a government that stands by him. This is how Spanish democracy works, or what is left of it.