Begoña Gómez requests full acquittal ahead of jury trial over Complutense chair

Defense brief and request for acquittal

On 4 September 2026, Begoña Gómez, the wife of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, submitted her defense brief requesting full acquittal in the judicial case over her co-direction of an extraordinary chair at the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM). Her newly appointed defense lawyer, Jaime Campaner, argued that the actions under investigation do not constitute any criminal offense. The brief asked the court to order the popular prosecution to pay procedural costs due to reckless legal action. Gómez faces allegations of influence peddling and embezzlement of public funds in a case directed by investigating magistrate Juan Carlos Peinado. In July 2026, the Provincial Court of Madrid upheld Peinado's decision to send Gómez and her Moncloa assistant Cristina Álvarez to a trial by jury.

Academic background and denial of moral pressure

Campaner stated that Gómez maintained a long-standing academic relationship with UCM that began well before Sánchez entered the Moncloa Palace. She served as co-director of a continuous training diploma in fundraising from 2012 to 2014 and later co-directed a master's degree in public and private fundraising management in non-profit organisations from 2014 to 2024. The defense maintained that the creation of the extraordinary chair followed standard university procedures and did not require a higher university degree. Furthermore, the defense emphasized that Gómez carried out her directorial duties without remuneration for four years and did not use her marital status to pressure university officials.

She did not influence or exert moral pressure on the rector or vice-rector, nor on any other authority or official, by taking advantage of her marital bond to secure the creation of the extraordinary chair that she directed.

Disputes over software ownership and assistant duties

The defense brief also rejected charges regarding the alleged misappropriation of digital software developed in connection with the university chair. Campaner argued that Gómez never acted with the intent to enrich herself, did not appropriate the technological platform, and did not divert it for private use. In parallel, the defense addressed the involvement of Moncloa adviser Cristina Álvarez. The filing argued that democratic custom allows spouses of prime ministers to rely on support staff for institutional, private, and professional duties. To support this precedent, the defense cited the memoirs of former prime minister's wife Ana Botella, who wrote about using assistants for personal tasks, and referenced photographic records of former aides to prime ministerial spouses carrying personal shopping.

Defense arguments for Moncloa adviser Cristina Álvarez

On 3 September 2026, Cristina Álvarez submitted her own defense brief seeking full acquittal ahead of the jury trial. The Madrid Provincial Court had previously narrowed the charges against Álvarez, dismissing three offenses and maintaining only a single charge of embezzlement related to the alleged diversion of the university software. Álvarez argued that former chair coordinator Blanca de Juan registered the website domain and later transferred it to Gómez without Álvarez's intervention or assistance. Álvarez stated that attending informational meetings and receiving emails did not constitute participation in software registration, maintaining that she acted under instructions from Gómez with the belief that her actions were lawful.

Attending an informative meeting and receiving informative emails does not constitute cooperation in the execution of the software registration.