Cristina Fernández de Kirchner goes on attack as she appears in court for ‘Cuadernos’ trial

Former president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner said she could spend the rest of her life deprived of liberty on Tuesday as she appeared before a federal court in the so-called ‘Cuadernos’ corruption notebooks case.

The former president, serving a six-year sentence under house arrest in Buenos Aires, made a brief, court-authorised trip from her apartment for the hearing and did not answer questions during her appearance at Federal Oral Court No. 7 (TOF 7).

Instead, she delivered a prepared statement in which she dismissed the charges as political persecution, described her previous conviction as “nonsense,” criticised President Javier Milei’s government and urged the Judiciary to act with greater consistency.

“With this Judiciary, I could die detained,” she said, going on to describe the investigation as “mafia-style” and accusing judges and prosecutors of acting in concert to curb her political influence. “At some point this will come to an end.”

The 73-year-old, who governed between 2007 and 2015, is required to wear an electronic ankle monitor as part of the sentence imposed last June.

Fernández de Kirchner singled out the late federal judge Claudio Bonadio, who led the original investigation before his death in 2020, and prosecutor Carlos Stornelli, who continues to serve in the role, alleging they exercised a “criminal handling” of plea-bargain witnesses. “We are now immersed in mafia-style practices by judges and prosecutors,” she said. “There are judges who respond to political and economic directives.”

She further claimed that evidence had been fabricated to justify arrests. “We are at a more advanced stage, because they fabricate evidence that is not evidence in order to detain a person,” she said during her appearance at the Comodoro Py federal courthouse in Buenos Aires. “One of them has already died – Bonadio – but Stornelli remains a prosecutor in this building.”

Fernández de Kirchner directly addressed the allegations that she had embezzled “billions” during her time in office, remarking sarcastically: “If I’d stolen millions of dollars, I wouldn’t be here!”

“They raided me, they searched me, they ransacked my house in Calafate. Do you know how I live and how my children live? Look, if I had stolen billions, I wouldn’t be sitting here, especially given the way the justice system operates,” she argued.

The case centres on allegations that Fernández de Kirchner and dozens of former officials and business figures formed an illicit association between 2003 and 2015 to receive bribes from companies in exchange for public works contracts. Prosecutors argue she was the “principal beneficiary” of a system that allegedly began during the 2003 to 2007 Presidency of her late husband, Néstor Kirchner.

Her court summons was triggered after judges rejected motions to annul the case filed by the defence and other defendants, including former federal planning minister Julio de Vido, who argued there were serious irregularities in the investigation and challenged the reliability of cooperating witnesses.

Defence lawyer Carlos Beraldi argued that the infamous handwritten notebooks presented as key evidence “were manipulated” and should be excluded from the case, adding that statements from 31 defendants-turned-witnesses were obtained under coercion.

The prosecution’s case relies heavily on the notebooks, which are attributed to a driver from the now-defunct Federal Planning Ministry and allegedly details of illegal cash payments. The defence maintains the material is fabricated and has filed multiple motions to have the case dismissed, all of which have been rejected.

The three-judge panel of the TOF 7 – Fernando Canero, Enrique Méndez Signori and Germán Castelli – will rule on preliminary objections before proceeding with the trial, which will examine the alleged bribery scheme and cartelisation of public works contracts between 2003 and 2015.

Other high-profile defendants, including De Vido and a number of former officials and business figures, are also due to appear during this phase of proceedings.

Outside her residence on San José Street in the San Telmo neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, several hundred supporters gathered from early morning, waving national flags as she travelled to and from the hearing. 

Some accused Milei of using her conviction under house arrest “to cover up the disaster” of his administration.

Buenos Aires Province Governor Axel Kicillof said in a post on the X social network that “the Judiciary, in collusion with Milei’s government, continues its harassment of Cristina Kirchner,” describing the conviction as “unjust and absurd.”

"They are putting on this show just as the destructive impact of the government’s policies is becoming impossible to hide,” he wrote.

If convicted, Fernández de Kirchner could face a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, although she would likely be eligible to request house arrest.

The trial is expected to continue beyond 2026, with more than 100 witnesses set to testify.

– TIMES/AFP/NA/PERFIL