"Don't bother me with that": José Luis Espert exploded when asked about his relationship with Diego Spagnuolo.

José Luis Espert , who heads the list of candidates for national deputy for the La Libertad Avanza party in the Province of Buenos Aires in October, appeared irritated when asked about his ties to Diego Spagnuolo , the former director of the Disability Agency responsible for the leaked audio recordings that discuss alleged bribes. "Don't bother me with that," he responded angrily.

"I knew him like I've known 10 million people... Don't bother me with that," the national representative said on Radio Rivadavia about the former director of the National Agency for Disability (ANDIS). "This is what some of the journalism that Spagnuolo introduced to Milei wants to introduce. I know what they're looking for: just as there's something strange about Spagnuolo, there's something strange about Espert ," he added in his interpretation.

Although Espert tried to downplay the deal and dismiss it as a sting , sources familiar with the early days of the Libertarian establishment assured Clarín that it was the congressman himself who brought Spagnuolo and the President together. It was in the post-pandemic period, when a Libertarian alternative was just beginning to emerge to compete in the City and the PBA.

Added to this are photos circulating on social media, especially by sectors of Kirchnerism, which suggest the relationship is long-standing.

In radio interviews , Espert denied that Spagnuolo had spoken to him about the bribery issue, saying their relationship lasted until 2021 and "then never again," only to contradict himself minutes later and admit that he had some meetings linked to ANDIS when Spagnuolo was the agency's director.

" I had some meetings related to ANDIS, but for budgetary reasons. I am the president of the Budget and Finance Committee, and Congress was discussing a disability project related to ANDIS, where the fiscal cost of that project had to be assessed. As president of the Budget Committee, in a completely institutional role , I asked the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to assess the fiscal costs of the project," he explained.

Espert insisted that the connection they're trying to pin on him with Spagnuolo is an operation: "They're going to operate on me, and on many other things. And let them come and operate, let them run whatever dirty campaigns they want. Dirty campaigns aren't useful when the government is doing things very well."

Finally, when asked why Spagnuolo mentioned the bribes, Espert simply said: "I don't know, I have no idea. Ask him, guys."