She ordered sedition charges against Catalan leaders. Now she defends the prosecutor.
When the state's chief prosecutor becomes the accused, the courtroom becomes a mirror held up to the institutions themselves. On November 3, Spain's Attorney General Álvaro García Ortiz will stand trial at the Supreme Court, charged with unlawfully exposing private tax records belonging to the partner of Madrid's regional president — a case that has drawn into its orbit some of the most contested figures in recent Spanish legal history. That his defense includes a lawyer who once directed sedition charges against Catalan independence leaders suggests this trial is less a contained legal proceeding than a convergence of the fault lines that have defined a decade of Spanish political life.
- The Attorney General of Spain — the country's top prosecutor — now sits on the other side of the law, accused of leaking confidential fiscal data in what critics see as a politically motivated exposure.
- The addition of Consuelo Castro to his defense team reignites memories of the Procés trials, where she steered the state toward sedition charges against Catalan leaders, making her presence here anything but neutral.
- Forty witnesses, including the alleged victim, Ayuso's chief of staff, and Socialist politicians, will testify across six sessions — turning the courtroom into a stage for Spain's deepest political rivalries.
- The trial threatens to pull back the curtain on how confidential state information moves — or is moved — through the corridors of power, raising questions that extend far beyond one man's conduct.
- As November 3 approaches, the case is landing not as a routine prosecution but as a stress test for the independence and credibility of Spain's justice system itself.
On November 3, Spain's Attorney General Álvaro García Ortiz will appear before the Supreme Court to answer charges that he unlawfully disclosed confidential tax information about Alberto González Amador, the partner of Madrid's regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso. The accusation strikes at the heart of state secrecy — the principle that private financial data held by the government must remain sealed from public exposure, regardless of who holds power.
He will not face the court alone. Alongside his longtime legal counsel José Ignacio Ocio, García Ortiz has enlisted Consuelo Castro — a lawyer whose career is bound to one of Spain's most divisive judicial episodes. As the government's chief legal officer under Pedro Sánchez, Castro made a pivotal decision in November 2018: she redirected the state's legal strategy in the Catalan independence trials, replacing the charge of rebellion with sedition. Her name has carried that weight ever since. Her connection to García Ortiz, sources say, runs deeper than politics — the two share a professional history rooted in years of work together in Galicia.
The trial will stretch across six sessions through November 13, with forty witnesses called to testify. The list maps the contours of Spain's current political landscape: the complainant himself, Ayuso's chief of staff Miguel Ángel Rodríguez, and two Socialist politicians from Madrid are all expected to take the stand.
What begins as a question of whether confidential data was improperly revealed will almost certainly become something larger — an examination of how law, loyalty, and political calculation intersect at the highest levels of the Spanish state. The fault lines this trial exposes may prove more consequential than the verdict itself.
Álvaro García Ortiz, Spain's Attorney General, will walk into the Supreme Court on November 3 to defend himself against charges that he unlawfully disclosed confidential tax information about the boyfriend of Madrid's regional president, Isabel Díaz Ayuso. He will not walk alone. Two state lawyers will sit beside him at the defense table, and one of them carries a particular weight of history.
José Ignacio Ocio has been García Ortiz's legal anchor throughout the investigation. But now joining him is Consuelo Castro, a figure whose name is inseparable from one of Spain's most contentious judicial moments. Castro served as the government's chief legal officer—the Abogada General—after Pedro Sánchez took office. In that role, she made a consequential decision: she ordered the state to pursue sedition charges against the leaders of Catalonia's independence movement, the Procés. This was a shift. The previous state lawyer, Edmundo Bal, had maintained the charge of rebellion. Castro's intervention in November 2018 changed the legal strategy, imposing sedition as the operative accusation.
The choice to bring Castro into García Ortiz's defense is not accidental. Sources close to the case describe a long professional relationship between the two, forged years earlier when they worked in Galicia. That shared history, it appears, has now drawn her back into a high-stakes courtroom.
The trial itself will unfold across six sessions stretching from November 3 to November 13. Forty witnesses are expected to testify. The witness list reads like a map of Spain's current political tensions. Alberto González Amador, the man whose tax records were allegedly disclosed and whose complaint triggered this prosecution, will take the stand. So will Miguel Ángel Rodríguez, Ayuso's chief of staff. Two Socialist politicians from Madrid—Pilar Sánchez Acera and Juan Lobato—are also scheduled to appear.
The core allegation is straightforward in its outline but explosive in its implications: García Ortiz is accused of revealing confidential fiscal data, information that should have remained sealed within the state apparatus. The charge carries the weight of a breach of trust, a violation of the secrecy that is supposed to protect citizens' private financial information. Yet the context surrounding the alleged disclosure has made this far more than a technical legal matter. It sits at the intersection of regional politics, national governance, and the independence movement that has fractured Spanish politics for years.
García Ortiz's defense team now includes someone who has already shaped one of Spain's most significant recent trials. Whether Castro's presence signals confidence in the strength of their case, or whether it reflects the political dimensions of the prosecution itself, will become clearer as the testimony unfolds. What is certain is that this trial will expose not just the facts of what happened, but the fault lines running through Spain's justice system.
Citações Notáveis
Castro imposed the criterion of pursuing sedition charges against the leaders of the Procés, replacing the previous state lawyer who had maintained the charge of rebellion— Cadena SER reporting on Castro's role in the Catalan trial
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why bring in Castro specifically? García Ortiz had Ocio already.
Because Castro carries credibility in state legal circles. She's not a hired gun—she's a former government official. That matters in a case where the defendant is the Attorney General himself.
But doesn't her role in the Catalan sedition charges create baggage?
Potentially. But it also signals something: if you're defending the top prosecutor in the country, you want someone who understands how power moves through the justice system at that level.
The witness list includes Ayuso's people and Socialists. What are they actually going to testify about?
The chain of how the information moved. Who knew what, when, and whether García Ortiz had authority to disclose it. The Socialists are there because this whole thing is wrapped up in Madrid politics.
Is this trial about the alleged leak, or about something bigger?
Both. The leak itself is the charge. But what's really on trial is whether the Attorney General can be prosecuted for actions taken in his official capacity—and whether the justice system can remain independent when the defendant sits at its apex.
What happens if he's convicted?
That's the question no one wants to answer yet. It would be unprecedented. It would also reshape how future attorneys general operate.