Alberto Nuñez Feijóo assured this Monday that he would collaborate with justice “in whatever it asks” to facilitate the investigation into the criminal responsibilities that could arise from the 230 deaths of the night of dana in Valencia on October 29, 2024.
However, a few minutes after this appearance before the press to take stock of the year’s politics, the investigating judge in charge of the case, Nuria Ruiz Tobarradictated an order to him in which he invited him to hand over “the entirety” of the conversation and not just the messages that Carlos Mazón had sent him.
To comply with this “voluntary” requirement, the monitor grants “a period of 3 days” to the president of the PP. And official party sources are now responding to this “the car will be analyzed”before making a decision on how to proceed, without confirming that Feijóo will contribute his own messages to the cause.
Concretely, the judge demands the messages “which were sent by the witness Mr. Núñez Feijóo to Mr. Mazón”.
Feijóo had declared a few minutes earlier: “I gave the judge what you asked me, in its entirety. Moreover, I have taken a new step, provide context of the conversation. »
During his appearance to the press to take stock of 2025, Feijóo was questioned about questions from the PSOE and the government regarding if “he’s hiding something” by sending only received messages and not yours.
To this, Feijóo responded unambiguously: “It is curious that they ask me to give something that they did not ask me. But If the judge ends up asking me, I won’t have a problem.“.
Broken phone
The leader of the PP went further in his speech. He revealed a fact relevant to understanding his position: “Weeks ago I had to change my phone because it was broken.
At that time, he explained: “I didn’t even know I would be called as a witness nor that the judge would ask me to provide the messages. » What is relevant, according to Feijóo, is that “in this process I did not take the opportunity to delete anything, because I am not like Pedro Sánchez“.
The government spokesperson, Elma Saizwent so far as to publicly demand his resignation. And for her, she had a forceful response.
“What can you expect from a companion of Santos Cerdán” said Feijóo, considering that “it is normal that their moral approaches are different to mine. » Even more direct: “They never resign, because they always lie“.
While officially the popular leadership maintains Feijóo’s collaborative disposition, this newspaper was able to observe the discomfort with the instruction. The PP argues that the messages, although relevant, They are part of a “private conversation of a person who is also the leader of the opposition.
What generates the most friction is perceived asymmetry in the investigation. From the PP, we consider that the judge is determined to look for signs of criminal liability against Mazón to be able to refer the case to the TSJ of Valencia, “when So far, he hasn’t found a single one.“.
Additionally, the instructor requested the “complete” conversation between Mazón and Feijóo, but refused to collect the messages exchanged between the regional president and Pedro Sánchez or Teresa Ribera, who “had management responsibilities that night, before the Dana tragedy.
Critical points
Feijóo’s testimony on January 9 will finally be done electronically, at the request of the PP president.
In this document, Feijóo will probably have to explain the apparent contradiction between his claim to have been informed “in real time” by Mazón and the reality that the first message from the regional president did not arrive until 8:08 p.m., after Feijóo learned the news through the media.
The judge will likely investigate the precise content of what Feijóo transmitted to Mazón that night.
But the messages you sent could be more politically revealing than those he receivedbut probably not legally. Unless they contain recommendations, instructions or assessments on how to manage the crisis.
A third critical aspect will be the change of mobile phone. The judge may be interested in establishing precisely when this occurred. Even if any judicial initiative in this direction would come into conflict with the condition of simple witness, as well asby Feijoo.
Furthermore, the instructor could ask, at the request of the accusations, if Feijóo, as leader of the PP, issued any indication regarding Mazón’s decisions, he recommended strategy changesor suggested alternative measures coordination.
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