Hard blow to García Ortiz: his right-hand man requested the file by his 'order'

The deputy prosecutor of the Technical Secretariat of the State Attorney General's Office, Diego Villafañe, appeared this Wednesday before the Supreme Court judge. He is being investigated for a possible crime of revealing secrets.

His statement is part of the case opened following the complaint by businessman Alberto González Amador, partner of the Madrid president Isabel Díaz Ayuso. This, due to the leak of information about his tax file.

Villafañe confirmed that his interest in the case originated from an "order" received from his direct superior, the Attorney General, Álvaro García Ortiz. With this argument, the prosecutor has followed the same line of defense as the provincial prosecutor of Madrid, Pilar Rodríguez.

She is also being investigated in the case, who last week justified her actions in the "due obedience" within the hierarchy of the Public Prosecutor's Office.

According to the investigation, Villafañe played a "relevant role," although of lesser weight, in the events that led to the leak of the email sent last February 2. This, by González Amador's lawyer to prosecutor Julián Salto, in charge of his case, in which he offered a deal in exchange for acknowledging two tax crimes. The process is ongoing to determine the degree of responsibility of those involved.

Diego Villafañe has acknowledged having participated in the request made by García Ortiz during the night of March 13, 2024, when the events that led to the investigation began. However, Villafañe has denied any involvement in the subsequent press release that denied the leaked details, including emails related to the case.

The prosecutor stated before the judge that he was informed of the Prosecutor's Office's statement only on March 14. Additionally, he assured that he was not involved in its drafting or in coordinating the reply to a news article by El Mundo.

News in which it was claimed that it was the Prosecutor's Office that offered the deal. Additionally, Villafañe has denied having "arranged" any action with other people regarding the leak.

Villafañe is the last of the three involved to testify before the judge. Attorney General García Ortiz and provincial prosecutor Pilar Rodríguez already did so last week. Both denied any involvement in the leak of the email and the file of Alberto González Amador.

In his testimony, Villafañe also assured that he never suspected that the confidential data could have been leaked from within the Prosecutor's Office.