Renewed Lawfare Attacks: The Federal Criminal Court ordered the holding of oral arguments in the Hotesur-Los Sauces and the Memorandum of Understanding with Iran cases, in which the nation’s vice president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, is accused. The verdicts seemed to be certain: for several weeks several media outlets have been waiting to hear what Diego Barroetaveña and Diego Petrone, the two judges who headed the Cassation Chamber I, together with Ana María Figueroa, the judge “sacked” by the Supreme Court decision, expected
Thus, with the votes of judges Barroetaveña and Petrone, the country’s highest criminal court annulled the dismissals of the respective oral courts. The decisions can be appealed to the nation’s Supreme Court.
Hotesur – Los Sauces
*In Hotesur-Los Sauces, CFK and his children Florencia and Máximo Kirchner were accused of the alleged irregular rental of the family’s hotels, with the theory that these were used to obtain illegal payments in exchange for public works, although all operations were on Bank accounts set. The case reached the Federal Oral Court 5 with charges of money laundering, illicit association and gifting, but a majority concluded there was nothing to adjudicate. The hearing with the Court of Cassation, where prosecutor Mario Villar asked for the dismissals to be annulled, also took place last November and Figueroa was present.
This Monday, Chamber II revoked the dismissal of the Vice President of the Nation, Cristina Kirchner, and ordered that the oral and public hearing be held together with the remaining thirty defendants, including her son Máximo Kirchner, on charges of illicit association and money laundering. Money for renting out properties and hotels owned by the family. Meanwhile, Florencia Kirchner was fired.
The request of the judges of cassation is also directed against the judges of TOF 5, since the judges Daniel Obligado and Adrián Grünberg – who signed the dismissal – removed from the housing and a new court is formed for the trial. Of course, the person who signed the dissent, Adriana Pallioti, remains in office.
Memorandum
In the case of the memorandum with Iran, in which the vice president and other former officials were accused of covering up the attack on the AMIA by the late prosecutor Alberto Nisman, the Federal Court 8 concluded that there was no crime and therefore this was the case could be no process. They were all dismissed, but the AMIA and DAIA complaints were appealed and criminal prosecution was requested. Prosecutor Javier De Luca had given up. The hearings before Room I took place in November 2022 with the participation of Figueroa.
Now Barroetaveña and Petrone consider that the actions of judges Gabriela Lopez Iniguez, Jose Michilini and Daniel Obligado were not relevant and called for the suspension of the vice president along with Eduardo Zuain, Carlos Zannini, Oscar Parrilli, Angelina Esther Abbona and Juan Martin Mena, Andrew Larroque, Luis Angel D́Elia, Fernando Esteche, Jorge Alexander Khalil and Ramon Hector Allan Bogado.
