The media U-turn: from chasing corruption to attacking Judge Peinado

The media U-turn: from chasing corruption to attacking Judge Peinado

Yesterday the corrupt were under investigation; today the judge pursuing them is under fire. Within a matter of hours, the media narrative has taken a sharp turn: if the day before it was the alleged irregularities of Begoña Gómez, vvife of the Spanish Prime Minister, being aired, the spotlight has now shifted to the presiding judge, Juan Carlos Peinado. The question hanging in the air is whether this is a coordinated manoeuvre to divert attention or simply a readjustment of coverage.The change of direction in coverage

The contrast is so abrupt that even the most sceptical observers have taken notice. Those trinc the investigation into Begoña Gómez's business dealings, centred on Madrid's Court of First Instance and Instruction No. 41, have seen how the media machinery suddenly began questioning Judge Peinado's conduct: from weekend summonses to awkward questions previously reserved for the suspects. The police union JUPOL has issued statements that some interpret as an attempt to discredit the magistrate, arguing that his comments about the suspect's security detail could facilitate a hypothetical escape.Suspicions of an orchestrated campaign

It is not hard to trace the shadow of the Spanish government in this shift. The timing – just as pressure on the Prime Minister's vvife was intensifying – fuels theories that contacts were activated from Moncloa to change the narrative. Some analysts suggest that investment in media outlets sympathetic to the government has increased in recent weeks to impose a narrative that erodes the judge's image. For the sharp-eyed, the result is a sense of déjà vu: the same strategy of saturation and discredit directed at the judiciary that has been seen in other democracies in crisis.The police response and the Catalan precedent

The police, for their part, have not hidden their displeasure. JUPOL's statements suggest that the judge questioned the professionalism of Begoña Gómez's security detail, which has been interpreted as a corporate attack. But as has been pointed out, this is not the first time security officers have facilitated the escape of a suspect: the precedent of the Mossos d'Esquadra with Carles Puigdemont is still fresh in the collective memory. The double standard – downplaying it when it involves a separatist, scandalised when it involves a government figure – has not gone unnoticed.

With these ingredients, the debate over judicial independence and the political use of justice intensifies. While some see a legitimate campaign of scrutiny against a judge who overstepped, others detect the classic pattern of harassment of anyone investigating those in power. The coming week will be key: whether the summonses multiply or, on the contrary, the focus returns to the Prime Minister's vvife's business dealings. The unsettling fact is that, meanwhile, the media noise leaves hardly any room for concrete facts.