Prosecutor faults judge Peinado's haste in Begoña Gómez case

According to Infobae on 28 September 2026, a prosecution document addressed to judge Juan Carlos Peinado criticises the "haste" with which he took certain decisions while investigating Begoña Gómez, wife of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, and her adviser Cristina Álvarez. Infobae reports that the prosecutor called this pace unusual compared with known practice, and wrote that it is neither desirable nor acceptable to "pass over the professionals". The main example Infobae gives is that the judge called the parties to the preliminary hearing with only one day's notice.

Other outlets add the context. Última Hora and Noticias de Navarra say that hearing went ahead on 8 September 2026 at 6 pm, even though the defence teams for Gómez and Álvarez had asked for a postponement. La Vanguardia and Infobae report that Álvarez, Gómez's adviser at Moncloa, was outside Spain when she was summoned and had appealed the judge's decision to keep the date without her. Noticias de Navarra names the prosecutor as José Manuel San Baldomero (a name that appears in several reports but that we could not confirm at the original source). According to that outlet, he rejected Álvarez's appeal, finding that travelling abroad was not a breach and did not put her beyond the court's reach. El Debate highlights the apparent contradiction: the prosecution accepted that the hearing could go ahead without Álvarez while still openly questioning how quickly the date had been set.

Why is this trending in Spain today? The timing. Infobae reported on 26 September that Peinado had been compulsorily retired on age grounds, with his retirement published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) on Saturday 26 September, the day before he turned 72. That came just after he ordered Gómez and Álvarez to stand trial before a jury (jurado popular). La Vanguardia describes the prosecution's criticism as a "last dart" aimed at the judge as he leaves office.

What happens next? El Debate reports that Gómez is to be tried for influence peddling and misappropriation, and Álvarez for misappropriation, while both the prosecution and the defence are seeking acquittal on the grounds that no crime was committed. Keep in mind that the exact charges going to trial are not yet fully clear from the reporting, no trial date has been announced so far, and some original articles (El País, La Vanguardia, El Debate) could not be read in full. The details above were cross-checked through Infobae, Última Hora, Noticias de Navarra and El Español.

Sources : Infobae, La Vanguardia, El Debate, Última Hora, Noticias de Navarra, El Español, Google Trends.