The Madrid Court has decided to admit the complaint for alleged revelation of secrets against Miguel Ángel Rodríguez, chief of staff of the president of the Community of Madrid, after upholding the appeal filed by the PSOE and the newspaper El País.
Diffusion of journalists' data in a private chat
According to the judicial resolution, Miguel Ángel Rodríguez identified and disseminated the image of two journalists from El País who were in the vicinity of Isabel Díaz Ayuso's home. The information was shared in a chat with 18 contacts, where Rodríguez pointed out that the reporters had been "harassing the neighbors" of the president.
Rodríguez himself, in an interview published on March 30, 2024, stated that the journalists "were harassing minors, giving them their business card so they would call them" and added that the identity of the reporters was only revealed to 18 people.
"I revealed the identity to 18 people. Nothing more" - Miguel Ángel Rodríguez, chief of staff of the president of the Community of Madrid
The judicial order and the protection of reserved data
The order of the Court underlines that, in accordance with article 5.5 of the Law on State Security Forces and Corps, the members of these corps have the obligation to keep secret the information they obtain through their functions. The data of the journalists that a police officer initially received had a confidential nature, according to the judicial document.
The resolution considers it necessary to investigate the path of that information. The court indicates that it is pertinent to ascertain how, when, and why the journalists' data reached the defendant and if the latter effectively disclosed them.
For the moment, the case is in the admission phase and the facts are under judicial investigation. There is no record of precautionary measures nor of formal charges.