The Civil Guard's DAO is extended before the judge and the declaration of the director of the armed institute is postponed until tomorrow

Source Summary

Mercedes González will have to return tomorrow to the National Court. The Director General of the Civil Guard is under investigation for prevarication and obstruction of justice within the framework of the Leire Díez case and was due to testify this morning before Judge Santiago Pedraz. According to the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, she facilitated an “instrumental use” of disciplinary proceedings as a “pressure mechanism” on the police investigators of the cases involving Pedro Sánchez's circle. However, before her, it was the turn of the second-in-command of the armed institute, the Deputy Operational Director, Manuel Llamas, and he has been testifying for so long that the magistrate has been forced to postpone Mercedes González's interrogation. Llamas is in the spotlight because a witness reported that in July 2024 he urged agents to “stand aside” in judicial cases with political implications, to not be proactive, and to yield the lead in driving investigations to the investigating judges.