Judge sends Spanish PM's wife Begoña Gómez to jury trial for influence peddling

Oral trial order and charges

Investigating judge Juan Carlos Peinado has concluded his two-and-a-half-year inquiry into Begoña Gómez, the wife of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, issuing a 67-page order sending her and her Moncloa assistant Cristina Álvarez to a trial before a popular jury. Gómez faces charges of influence peddling and embezzlement of public funds, while Álvarez is charged solely with embezzlement regarding her administrative role at the prime minister's official residence. Peinado signed the non-appealable order six days before reaching mandatory judicial retirement at age 72 on 27 September 2026. The decision establishes the first instance in modern Spanish democracy where the spouse of a sitting prime minister will face a criminal trial before a panel of citizens.

Jury selection and legal mechanics

The trial will proceed before a nine-member citizen jury with two alternates, governed by Spain's Organic Law 5/1995 under Article 125 of the 1978 Constitution. Potential jurors will be drawn from an electoral census pool of 2,846 Madrid residents established in September 2024 for the 2025–2026 term, provided the specific case lottery takes place before 31 December 2026. If delayed into 2027, jurors will come from a new biennial list initiated in mid-September 2026. The court will randomly choose 36 initial candidates who must complete questionnaires assessing legal disqualifications, such as active criminal records, public office, or conflicts of interest. Both the defense and prosecution can challenge candidates for cause and exercise up to four peremptory dismissals without stating a reason before the final bench is sworn in. Candidates chosen in the lottery often express anxiety regarding the high-profile assignment.

“I have thought sometimes that with my bad luck I would definitely be called for the Begoña Gómez case.”

Allocation across the Madrid Provincial Court

Management of the trial moves to the Madrid Provincial Court, where an automated assignment system will allocate the case to one of 12 eligible penal sections. While the court contains 15 penal divisions, Section 23 is excluded because it previously handled investigative appeals, and Sections 26 and 27 are barred due to their specialization in gender violence cases. This leaves 60 magistrates across the remaining sections eligible to serve as magistrate-president of the jury court, assigned based on seniority within the selected panel. The appointed judge will oversee preliminary procedural motions, supervise juror interviews, and deliver the final sentence based on the jury's verdict of guilt or innocence.

Eligible magistrates60

Preselected candidate pool36

Trial jury members9

Alternate jurors2

Eligible magistrates

60 people

Preselected candidate pool

36 people

Trial jury members

9 people

Alternate jurors

2 people

Data from the article text

Judicial background and projected timeline

The case began in March 2024 over public procurement contracts awarded by state entity Red.es to businessman Juan Carlos Barrabés, who had received a letter of recommendation signed by Gómez for a university master's program. Subsequent inquiries by the Guardia Civil and the European Public Prosecutor's Office found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing in European-funded contracts, and the Madrid Provincial Court previously nullified 20 procedural rulings during Peinado's instruction. Judicial sources estimate the oral trial will begin in approximately ten months, around July 2027. That projection places the public proceedings alongside the statutory deadline for Spain's next general election, where Pedro Sánchez would seek another four-year term.