Congress gives Ábalos until January 13 to make allegations to the request requested by the Supreme Court

The president of the Supreme Court, Isabel Perelló, sent on Thursday, December 19, to the Congress, Francina Armengolthe communication sent by the Criminal Chamber of this body that submits a request in relation to the now deputy of the Mixed Group.

Specifically, the instructor of the ‘Koldo case’ In the Supreme Court, Leopoldo Puente, has requested to suspend the parliamentary immunity of the former minister for appreciating “sufficient indications” of the commission of up to four crimes: integration into a criminal organization, influence peddling, bribery and embezzlement.

one day later After the request reached the Carrera de San Jerónimo, the Board of the Chamber held a telematic meeting to qualify the document, which was sent to the commission in charge of processing it. And that same day the body chaired by the ‘popular’ Manuel Cobo, and of which a member of each parliamentary group is a member, called the meeting that took place this Friday.

As mandated to Congress Regulations This meeting was held behind closed doors. As Cobo himself later reported, the request has been made known and a period of allegations has been opened to give Ábalos a hearing.

In person or in writing

Specifically, it has been agreed that the deputy may send his allegations in writing to no later than January 13 at ten in the morning or if you prefer to explain yourself in person, you can appear that same day at 12:30 before the commission.

By regulation, the Commission on the Statute of the Deputy has 30 days to process the request, but this time that deadline collides with the month of January, in which there is no ordinary activity. That is why the Board of the Chamber will be asked to authorize the commission to be able to meet on January 13.

Regardless of whether Ábalos presents allegations or not, the commission will reconvene on January 13 in the afternoon to approve its conclusions. The Regulation establishes that the request must be voted on in the next ordinary Plenary Session – which will not take place until February when it starts in new session-, but Cobo has left open the possibility that the matter be discussed in a plenary session that is estimated for the end of January if the Board of Spokesmen so agrees.

Closed door procedure

Of course, the debate and voting on the petitions in the Plenary Session of Congress is not public either, but rather takes place with the chamber. in camera and without transparency. Deputies are also not obliged to follow voting instructions since their vote is secret. Only the result is announced.

Within a period of eight days, counted from the agreement of the Plenary Session of the Chamber on the granting or denial of the requested authorization, Armengol will inform the same to the judicial authoritywarning him of the obligation to communicate to the Chamber the orders and sentences that are issued and personally affect the deputy.

The request will be deemed denied if the Chamber has not ruled within the period of sixty calendar dayscomputed during the session period, starting from the day following receipt of the request.

A request has not been rejected since 1988

So far Congress has approved 33 requests and rejected 14 (two of them regarding the same deputy). The last refusal of Congress dates back to 1988 and refers to a dispute over the right to honor that had as its protagonist the former socialist minister José Barrionuevo and the brother of an ETA member (the now repentant Soares Gamboa) for including his photos on Interior posters.

In the case of Ábalos, the granting of the request is taken for granted since even the PSOE has advanced who will support him when the vote takes place, since his desire is to clarify the case as soon as possible and see it through to the end.

The last request that went ahead dates back to September 2022, when the Chamber gave free rein to the Supreme Court to investigate former PP deputy Alberto Casero for alleged crimes of prevarication and embezzlement, for contracts he made as mayor of Trujillo (Cáceres).

In that legislature, petitions were also granted to the former president of Junts Laura Borràs, who ended up convicted for having divided contracts in favor of a friend during her time as director of the Institució de les Catalan Letters (ILC) and Alberto Rodríguez, who was a Podemos deputy. The Supreme Court convicted him of kicking a police officer in a demonstration before becoming a deputy. He imposed a fine on him and disqualified him from running in the elections, which cost him his seat. Later the Constitutional Court annulled the conviction, but could no longer recover its record.

In previous legislatures, three PP deputies – Vicente Ferrer, Arsenio Pacheco and Nacho Uriarte – who had tested positive behind the wheel were authorized to try and the previous one was the one who gave free rein to investigate the also ‘popular’ Jesús Merino for the ‘Gürtel case’. That of former socialist councilor José Antonio Viera, investigated by the ERE, did not complete the process due to the resignation of the affected person.

Furthermore, among those granted, those of former socialist minister José Barrionuevo stand out for the ‘GAL case’ or those of Herri Batasuna deputies Jon Idígoras, Francisco Letamendía and Antxón Ibarguren for the incidents that occurred in 1981 at the Guernica Assembly House, where several members of that coalition staged protests at an event presided over by the Kings.