The pseudo-union Manos Cleans, hence the complaint that gave rise to the Begoña case that judge Juan Carlos Peinado appoints to the Investigative Court Number 41 of Madrid, was left without legal representatives in the investigation against the wife of the President of the Government. The organization’s accused lawyer and prosecutor resigned from continuing to carry out the role considering that “what was initially a legal assignment” has turned “into a political and media controversy”, we read in a letter addressed to the trainer and to which EL PAÍS had access.
The lawyer sent the joint resignation letter to Peinado this Monday, accompanied by a letter signed by lawyer Carlos Perales of the Preico Jurídicos law firm. Perales censures the attitude of the pseudo-union towards the popular accusation and considers it “unfeasible” to continue its work effectively, according to “the standards of quality, independence and legal rigor” that inspire the professional practice of the office.
“What was initially configured as a legal assignment (…) has progressively transformed into an issue whose presentation and treatment go beyond the legal framework to place itself in the context of political and media controversy”, criticizes the lawyer, who also underlines that Manos Liminas is not moved by the solidity of the legal arguments and that, instead, “they respond, to a large extent, to considerations of political expediency, impact on public opinion or ideological positioning”. It is something “legitimate”, he underlines, from the point of view of the organization itself, but not from that of the practice of law “based on independence, technical rigor and strict submission to objective legal criteria”.
The resignation that the professionals addressed to the association led by Miguel Bernard indicates that the judicial procedure was used “as an instrument to obtain political ends” and that this “compromises the independence” of the defense. “Advocacy cannot be confused with political activism,” he continues. “Maintaining legal direction in a scenario in which times and messages are thought of more in terms of public impact than procedural effectiveness would mean breaking the professional mandate assumed for this office,” he underlines.
Furthermore, the lawyer explains to Judge Peinado that he tried to communicate his resignation months ago, in a burofax dated September 25, but that Manos Limpas did not respond. Not having heard their client, the professionals informed Judge Juan Carlos Peinado of the abandonment of the legal defense, whose communication they consider already “consummated” because more than three days have passed without a response and they formalize their total dissociation before the judge.
Clean Hands is one of the most popular charges in the case against Sánchez’s wife, who is under investigation for alleged crimes of influence peddling, corporate corruption, embezzlement, intrusion and embezzlement. The origin of these investigations, in fact, is in a complaint by Bernard’s association in April 2024. Also present are the parties Vox and Iustitia Europa, the ultra-Catholic association Hazte Oír and the Political Regeneration Movement of Spain.
