The CGPJ's rejection of the attorney general portrays the fear that he will serve as a facilitator of the amnesty

The examination by the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) regarding the suitability of the attorney general, Álvaro García Ortiz, to hold the position was not about the amnesty law, but the amnesty was there. In the position adopted by the eight members who pushed this Thursday for the body's decision to declare him unsuitable, the fear weighed that the closeness to the Government attributed to him would become the battering ram that the Executive needs to defend the application of the pardon to those those who seek to benefit.

A good part of the CGPJ has no doubt that the attorney general will row in favor of Moncloa, which has just renewed him for a four-year mandate, which is already outlined as one of the most complicated in memory.. Once the law comes into force, the position defended by prosecutors will be key. The most logical thing is to assume that guidelines for unifying criteria will be given from the leadership, either in the form of instruction or under another format.. The amnesty was not mentioned during the plenary debate, but it hovered over it at all times.

The amnesty reaches hundreds of people accused of a multitude of crimes and, despite all the efforts of the law to protect it as much as possible from being effective, the reality is that the decision on whether those investigated or convicted for crimes linked to the independence processes come out unscathed corresponds, exclusively, to the judges. Before ruling on this matter, the different courts involved must notify the Public Ministry for a report.. Among the causes is that of the process, where the team of four prosecutors once defended a conviction for rebellion for Oriol Junqueras and the others and the criminal prosecution of Carles Puigdemont for the same crime..

García Ortiz has been, so far, very cautious about his future steps. On the occasions in which he has referred to the issue, he has avoided taking a position on the law and has argued that he must maintain “a public position that reinforces the principle of impartiality.”. He has suggested that the Prosecutor's Office will assess the norm “once it is part of our system after its publication in the Official State Gazette”, but that positioning “will be carried out through statutory channels” and will be “in all cases technical-legal.”.

Control the rebels

In the Council – and also outside it – they consider that the role of the attorney general will be to control possible attempts at rejection that may occur in the ranks of the Prosecutor's Office.. The members of the race have been mostly critical of him in recent weeks. To such an extent that the conservative president of the Association of Prosecutors even asked him to resign in a public event in which both of them agreed.. At least for now, what he is criticized for is his lukewarm stance towards lawfare accusations.. The prosecutors of the process even asked him to defend them in a letter. “He will act as a facilitator,” indicates a member consulted.

The censorship of his ability to hold the position evident today also allows him to be labeled as partial and helps any position he adopts to be seen through an even more critical prism.. The main reason for the Council's decision, which resembles a disapproval, is that García Ortiz does not comply with “the requirement of impartiality that the assumption of such high responsibility implies” and his career creates “an appearance of connection with power.” executive”. That was written a year and a half ago by José Antonio Ballestero, Ángeles Carmona, Nuria Díaz, Juan Manuel Fernández, José María Macías, Gerardo Martínez Tristán and Carmen Llombart. In this Thursday's plenary session, Wenceslao Olea's rejection was added, which was definitive. The progressives were left with one less member, who abstained.

The appointment policy

The secondary reason is also linked to the “lack of neutrality” that critical members see. He has demonstrated it – they say – through his appointment policy. One of his first decisions was to promote Dolores Delgado, who had been his boss until her resignation for health reasons, to the highest category.. Just a few days ago, the Supreme Court overturned that decision and also noted that it had been adopted by making abusive use of its power.. The permanent confrontation that it maintains with the Fiscal Council was also valued, which now has a majority of the opposite sign to its own.. Some speak directly of “contempt”.

In July 2022, the most critical of the Council already alleged that it had demonstrated “links” with the executive branch by participating in PSOE events, then referring to its presence in a socialist debate in Galicia.. His hug with another Galician, the vice president of the Government Yolanda Díaz, during the opening of the legislature at the doors of the Congress of Deputies, was, perhaps, the definitive push to make him the first unsuitable attorney general of democracy.