Overview

• Judge Leopoldo Puente denied García’s bid to recover phones and other devices seized in February 2024, saying the forensic review is still incomplete.
• He also rejected halting the proceedings, stating there is no legal basis and noting that co‑investigated former PSOE official Santos Cerdán remains in provisional detention.
• Investigators are handling roughly 10 terabytes of data, and full cloned copies cannot yet be provided because unrelated material must first be expurgated.
• García is summoned for Oct. 16 to challenge the UCO’s findings and present alternative explanations, including references to messages on his own devices.
• The defense claims material indefense over lack of access, disputes the UCO’s reading of WhatsApp slang such as “chistorras” and “lechugas,” and says it cannot counter allegations like possible cash deliveries to José Luis Ábalos.