The PSOE spokesman in Congress, Patxi López, closed the internal investigation into the Mediator plot on Tuesday, presumably headed by former socialist deputy Juan Bernardo Fuentes Curbelo, finding only "five deputies" from the House parliamentary group Low that "they went to dinner in separate months and respecting the curfew." Likewise, he has ruled out that the PSOE is going to promote an investigative commission in Congress on the case.
The Socialists were investigating how many PSOE deputies had attended a dinner at the Madrid restaurant Ramsés with various businessmen, after the alleged mediator of the plot, Antonio Navarro, revealed that he had organized an appointment in this place for Fuentes Curbelo and a fortnight of members of the socialist group when the restrictions imposed by the covid pandemic were still in force.
In a press conference, López has assured that there are not "15, nor 20 nor 30" deputies and that only "five went to dinner", and at "separate tables and respecting the curfew". "That is the only sin of the group," she added.
Along these lines, he regretted that colleagues were signed up "unfairly, knowing that they had not been to any dinner or have any relationship with the mediator." For this reason, he has demanded "assuming responsibility" for the personal damage caused to these socialist deputies, to whom the party will assist if they want to take legal action against whoever links them to the case.
Immediately afterwards, the socialist spokesman has ruled out that the PSOE is going to promote a commission of investigation into the case in Congress, stressing that it has no reason to exist because "there is no case."
Unidas Podemos, for its part, has guaranteed that it would only support the commission if its coalition partner promoted it, as explained by the state co-spokesperson for Podemos, Javier Sánchez Serna. In this way, it has ruled out voting in favor of the initiative if it is presented by the PP. Even so, he has stressed that it is a "serious" case of corruption that worries them. The president of the parliamentary group in Congress, Jaume Asens, has also reduced the need for this commission and has focused on reactivating the Kitchen case.
The Popular Party, on the other hand, has demanded that the president of the chamber, Meritxell Batet, launch an internal investigation to, among other things, clarify whether evidence related to the 'Mediator case' and the "spurious" use have been destroyed that the former socialist deputy from the Canary Islands Juan Bernardo Fuentes Curbelo, nicknamed 'Tito Berni', could have acted as "elements and resources" of the Chamber, questioning "the image and decorum" of all the deputies, in the words of the popular leader Ana Shepherd.
Likewise, the also vice president of Congress has summoned Batet to "report in a public statement everything that has happened", what measures have been adopted in this regard and what more things remain to be done.
