Overview
- Judge Leopoldo Puente refused to authorize Ábalos’s attendance at the Senate’s Koldo inquiry, citing the late request during a judicial recess and inviting a new petition with sufficient time for parties to be heard.
- Puente also denied a popular jury for the masks case, reasoning that the offenses fall under procedures tied to the Audiencia Nacional despite Ábalos’s past aforado status.
- Chabaneix Abogados and lead lawyer Carlos Bautista resigned over unpaid fees after lodging a detailed defense brief and proposing witnesses including Fernando Grande-Marlaska, Ángel Víctor Torres and Francina Armengol.
- Ábalos remains in provisional detention at Soto del Real since 27 November 2025, with the Supreme Court set to review his appeal against remand on 15 January.
- He has asked the Congress board to restore his parliamentary rights until that review, while Anticorruption prosecutors seek 24 years in prison and multimillion-euro fines.