License to lie

A public opinion poll conducted by the Centre d'Estudis d'Opinió (CEO) reveals that Catalans trust the Fire Department's messages more than those of the Catalan government itself, and that trust in institutions varies considerably. Socialist voters are lenient with the government, Congress, the Catalan Parliament, and even the courts, despite the misgivings of Pedro Sánchez, his wife, his brother , the Attorney General, and the PSOE party itself, due to the friendly fire from José Luis Ábalos and Koldo García . Conversely, Vox supporters are almost paranoid. They distrust institutions and, for that matter, the World Health Organization and NATO as well. In fact, half of the far-right voters, whether for Vox or Aliança Catalana, reject scientific or academic evidence, according to the CEO's post-truth study.

If 47% of those surveyed struggle to distinguish between real and fake news, and the truth is no longer irrefutable—63% believe it depends on your ideology—alternative facts become accusatory material, and refuting them, grounds for possible conviction. The trial against the Attorney General is meant to determine whether Álvaro García Ortiz leaked an email from Isabel Díaz Ayuso's boyfriend seeking a plea deal to avoid a tax fraud trial. But the hearing has devolved into an epilogue to *The Art of Lying *, and Miguel Ángel Rodríguez, its willing protagonist .

In the Supreme Court courtroom, it is not just a case of revealing secrets that is being judged: the presiding magistrate has confused the prosecution with the defense, the State Attorney's Office has attacked the High Court's investigation, the prosecuting witnesses have declared war on each other, and the arrogance of a journalist with a license to lie has reigned.

Rodríguez has arrogated to himself the power to create hoaxes with impunity, solely to "protect" his president, claiming he is a "journalist" working in politics, "not a notary." There is no social responsibility or preservation of democracy to speak of, only a battle for power. From his position in Ayuso's cabinet in the Madrid government, Rodríguez advises the PP leader's partner—"Don Alberto"—on how to transform an alleged tax offense into a politically motivated witch hunt against Ayuso.

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Misappropriation of public funds? The controversial Rodríguez doesn't think so if his advice serves to advance the Attorney General and fuel the conflict between Ayuso and Pedro Sánchez's government. He takes care of "everything that could affect the president's reputation." In contrast, Judge Juan Carlos Peinado's case against Begoña Gómez is unfolding. There, the "advice" the Prime Minister's wife received from Moncloa staff has been under investigation for over a year and a half . This alleged misappropriation is fueled by the Supreme Court's creative interpretation of the crime in the Catalan independence trial .

Facts are no longer sacred, even before a judge, and truth depends on ideology.

Let's return to the trial against the Attorney General: facts are no longer sacred, not even in a judicial investigation. Lies take flight, while truth crawls after them. During the investigation, the journalist-notaries weren't given any credibility, but a purveyor of misinformation was—a man who told the truth by admitting to a lie—and a prominent boyfriend, now facing charges for tax fraud, has discovered that the media circus is real. "Either I leave Spain or I commit suicide," a tragicomic dilemma.

An alleged crime against the public treasury, a leak, some witty tweets, a well-wrapped falsehood… and an attorney general making a fatal mistake : trying to refute a political narrative surrounding an email that circulated through half of the Public Prosecutor's Office instead of speaking through his judicial actions.

The court, with its ruling, will act like the doctor who found the cure shortly after the patient died. If trust in institutions is low and politicians top the list of citizens' problems, the justice system is one of the public services with the lowest ratings among Spaniards. The Attorney General is being tried for a leak before Ayuso's partner is tried for alleged tax fraud.