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Spain's Supreme Court Issues Full Ruling Convicting Ex Attorney General García Ortiz for Secret Disclosure

The judgment treats the leak plus a press note as a single act that violated the office's reinforced duty of confidentiality.

Overview

  • The published sentence confirms a two‑year disqualification, a €7,200 fine, and €10,000 in damages to Alberto González Amador, with ordinary appeals exhausted and only exceptional remedies remaining.
  • The court finds that García Ortiz, or someone in his immediate circle with his knowledge, supplied the defense email to Cadena SER, relying on a coherent set of indicia and respecting journalists’ professional secrecy.
  • The ruling states that prior media circulation does not neutralize a prosecutor’s duty of reserve and says the attorney general cannot answer alleged falsehoods by committing a crime.
  • The judgment cites the wiping of García Ortiz’s phone and computers after he was put under investigation as evidence of concealment and notes coincident deletions by other officials, including a former Moncloa adviser.
  • Two justices, Ana Ferrer and Susana Polo, dissent that the leak was not proven and the press note was not criminal; García Ortiz resigned on November 24, the government reacted with caution, and successor Teresa Peramato advances toward appointment.