Lorraine Williamson
PSOE payments to Leire Díez would normally be a footnote: a regional communications job, billed years ago, filed and forgotten. Instead, it has landed in a Madrid court at the exact moment Díez is being investigated in two separate cases.
The party’s argument is straightforward. She was not staff, had no internal party post, and carried out freelance “journalistic services” in Cantabria in 2017. The timing, though, means every line is being read through the lens of what is now being alleged.
Who is Leire Díez?
Leire Díez (Leire Díez Castro) is a journalist and former PSOE member. She also served as a local councillor in Vega de Pas (Cantabria). Spanish media has at times described her using the political slang fontanera — a behind-the-scenes “fixer”. This label has stuck as the legal cases have gathered attention.
What matters for readers is the narrower point: she is now under judicial investigation, and that has dragged past work and past contacts into the open.
What PSOE has confirmed to the judge
In a filing to Madrid’s Instruction Court No. 9, PSOE says Díez “did not have an employment relationship” with the party and held no organisational role. It does, however, confirm she invoiced €15,612.04 gross in 2017 for “journalistic services”. These services were provided to the Socialist Party in Cantabria under a commercial (freelance) arrangement.
That same documentation repeats details already in circulation, including her time as a councillor in Vega de Pas and that she left the party on 4 June 2025, after recordings involving her were published.
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Why a 2017 payment is being discussed in 2025
Political parties outsource communications constantly. Press notes, local media monitoring, briefing packs and speech lines are part of the everyday machinery of regional politics.
The problem for PSOE is that this payment has surfaced inside a case examining alleged attempts to obtain or use sensitive information connected to prosecutors and senior Guardia Civil investigators. The court is not trying to rewrite 2017. It is trying to map relationships.
Two investigations, two legal fronts
1) The Madrid inquiry (Instruction Court No. 9)
Judge Arturo Zamarriego is examining claims tied to leaked audio and alleged manoeuvres around information relating to prosecutors and the Guardia Civil’s UCO. Díez is being investigated in that context, alongside others named in reporting, for alleged offences including influence peddling and bribery.
One of the most politically explosive elements is an audio reported by El País of a meeting recorded by prosecutor Ignacio Stampa, in which Díez is quoted describing herself as acting on behalf of the party — something PSOE has publicly pushed back against.
2) The Audiencia Nacional investigation linked to SEPI contracts
In a separate case, Spain’s Audiencia Nacional is investigating an alleged network involving public-sector contracts and entities linked to the SEPI orbit, including former SEPI president Vicente Fernández and businessman Antxon Alonso, among others cited in reporting.
A judge has ordered bank accounts blocked in that inquiry. Reports describe alleged commissions linked to five operations and note the case is being driven by the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office.
Key dates, in plain English
18 April 2006
2011–2015
2017
Late May 2025
4 June 2025
December 2025
End of December 2025
The bigger question hanging over PSOE
This is no longer just about a freelance invoice. It is about trust — and about whether a party already facing relentless scrutiny can convincingly draw a hard line between “someone who did work for us once” and “someone acting in our name”.
For now, the courts are still collecting evidence and testing claims. The only certainty is that this story has moved beyond party messaging and into judicial timelines. Consequently, the next development will come from a judge, not a spokesperson.
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