Due to "technical problems" the session was suspended to save Judge Rodolfo Canicoba Corral denounced for alleged enrichment and bribes

Nicolas Diana

05/28/2020 - 8:57

• Clarín.com
• Politics

Due to a series of supposed "technical problems", the plenary session in the Council of the Magistracy was suspended, in which Kirchnerism seeks to completely close the investigations weighing on federal judge Rodolfo Canicoba Corral.​

Canicoba accumulates five serious complaints for alleged illicit enrichment, bonuses, bribes and a possible request for bribes to the former head of the SOMU, Omar "Caballo" Suárez in the cause in which he investigated the irregularities in the union. They needed seven votes - today the pure K are six -, so that the magistrate will be saved from being sanctioned and even from facing a political trial.

The rush to save the judge is remarkable. Two weeks ago, they had already tried to force a plenary meeting - after obtaining the votes in the Accusation and Discipline commission - to close the files against the judge, but in the end they did not obtain the support. They needed a special majority. Now, they only needed seven votes to close the cases against the judge.

The plenary on Thursday had started with technical problems. The closure of the Canicoba Corral cases was included in the sixth item on the agenda. But they did not even treat him. First, they had to change the video call system because there were connection problems with the Jitsi and they activated the Zoom program, which became popular during the pandemic.

But in between there were more problems. Although they managed to resume the connection, after about ten minutes. Councilor Graciela Camano was frozen on the screen. He assured that he had suffered a power outage in the neighborhood where he lives and the counselors decided to go to an intermediate room until the problem was solved. But it was never solved and they passed the definition for next week. On Monday, at a working meeting, decide when the new date will be to deal with the files against Canicoba Corral.  

If the cases are finally closed to the judge, there will only be  one file open against Canicoba, which is the one that investigates the flights he made on private planes of businessmen to go to Uruguay on weekends. Must be raffled for further investigation

In favor of saving the judge, the representative of the Executive, Gerónimo Ustarroz, the Kirchner legislators Mariano Recalde, Inés Pilatti de Vergara and Vanesa Siley had already voted two weeks ago; the judge, president of the Council and close to the K Alberto Lugones and the academic Diego Molea who aligned himself with the government months ago. 

At the time, the complaints against the judge Canicoba Corral had been presented by the councilor and deputy of the PRO Pablo Tonelli, the deputy of the Civic Coalition Juan Manuel López and the expert Alfredo Popritkin. Counselor Juan Pablo Más Vélez, a historic radical and representative of the lawyers, accumulated the accusations because he considered that they were related causes. But at the end of last year, after an investigation full of irregularities, he asked to dismiss the complaints against Canicoba Corral. 

Two weeks ago, when it was discussed in the Discipline commission, Más Vélez changed his mind and tried to close the opinion. He argued that he was no longer part of that commission. But Kirchnerism played fast with the intention of saving the judge. Molea, who now chairs the commission, forced the vote.

The heart of the suspicions about Canicoba pointed to the supposed inconsistencies between the level of the judge's income with that of his expenses and his assets. But there were also complaints of alleged collection of ex-SIDE bonuses and an alleged request for bribes to the trade unionist Omar "Caballo" Suárez, processed and detained by Canicoba Corral.

Listed in the investigation were several properties of the magistrate apparently at odds with his salary. A mansion in Vicente López for US $ 650,000 and another apartment on Seguí Street in the Federal Capital, among others.

Some of the causes that Canicoba Corral has in his office could explain the rush of Kirchnerism to save him. They are of high impact for K interests because they point to the heart of Macrism. The most complex is that of irregularities to try to close the debt that the Macri group has with the State for the concession of the Argentine Post.

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