Supreme Court rules former Spanish Attorney General or someone close leaked confidential email

Spain's Supreme Court has published its ruling condemning the former Attorney General, Álvaro García Ortiz, to two years of disqualification from public office and a €7,200 fine for leaking a confidential email.

García Ortiz resigned in November after the Supreme Court found him guilty of leaking the email from the lawyer of Alberto González Amador, the partner of Madrid regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso. The email revealed an admission of tax fraud and an attempt to negotiate with the public prosecutor's office.

The ruling on Tuesday convicts García Ortiz of disclosing confidential information both for the email leak and for the prosecutor's subsequent press release.

The court considers it proven that either García Ortiz himself or someone in his immediate circle, with his knowledge, was responsible for leaking the email.

The court also found García Ortiz guilty of breaching an enhanced duty of confidentiality through his involvement in a press release issued by the prosecutor's office summarizing the proposed plea agreement with González Amador.

The judges noted that García Ortiz admitted his involvement and emphasized that the Attorney General cannot respond to false reports by committing a crime.

A dissenting opinion by two judges argued for García Ortiz's acquittal, stating that it was not proven he leaked the email and that issuing the press release did not constitute a crime.

The court did not question the credibility of the journalists involved or the truthfulness of their testimony, and emphasized that the Attorney General's duty of confidentiality is not nullified simply because confidential information became public knowledge.

The ruling also highlighted the court's strong respect for the professional secrecy of journalists.