Defence lawyers representing former president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner on Tuesday requested the annulment of the so-called ‘Cuadernos’ corruption mega-trial, arguing that the proceedings were “born out of deception.”
The trial, which began in November, sees Fernández de Kirchner and 85 other former officials and business figures in the dock. They stand accused of forming a network to secure public works contracts and other benefits through bribes and kickbacks between 2003 and 2015.
The period covers the two terms Fernández de Kirchner served as president, and that of her late husband Néstor Kirchner.
Also among the accused are former Federal Planning Ministry officials Julio De Vido and Roberto Baratta, as well as dozens of construction and energy executives, some of whom have admitted to paying bribes of between 10 and 20 percent on contracts.
Proceedings, which are being conducted remotely by video link at a pace of two hearings per week, resumed on Tuesday after the summer judicial recess.
The session was devoted to preliminary motions raised by defence lawyers.
Fernández de Kirchner’s lawyer, Carlos Beraldi, delivered a presentation lasting around an hour and a half, in which he argued that the case was affected by what he described as an “evident nullity.”
Beraldi said the investigation “originated in deception,” claiming that both the investigating judge and the prosecutor had been “hand-picked” to ensure Fernández de Kirchner’s volition.
He also challenged testimony provided by business executives who appeared as whistleblowers and cooperating witnesses under plea bargain arrangements, arguing they were pressured by prosecutors.
“What was done was to turn the justice system into an instrument of pressure and blackmail, directly violating one of the most basic guarantees, which is the right to a proper defence,” he claimed.
Prosecutors allege that business figures handed over packages of cash to intermediaries linked to the Kirchner administrations, and that the former president, described as the head of the scheme, was “the main recipient” of the payments.
One of the opposition’s most popular leaders, Fernández de Kirchner usually attends hearings remotely from her Buenos Aires apartment, where she is serving a six-year sentence under house arrest following a conviction in a separate corruption case.
In this new case, she faces a potential sentence of up to 12 years in prison if found guilty.
Fernández de Kirchner did not take part in Tuesday’s hearing, as the current stage of the proceedings – which will continue in coming sessions with submissions from other defence teams – does not require the presence of the defendants.
The trial is expected to last several years, with hundreds of witnesses due to testify.
The so-called "Causa Cuadernos" (“notebook case”) stems from records allegedly kept for years by Oscar Centeno, a driver at the Federal Planning Ministry, who wrote down routes, names of officials and businesspeople, and the sums of money he claimed to have delivered.
The contents of the notebooks has been challenged by the former president’s defence, which argued they had been tampered with. Several handwriting analyses determined that more than one person contributed to the notes.
In an October report, prosecutor Estela León described it as “the most extensive investigation into acts of corruption ever carried out in Argentina’s judicial history.”
– TIMES/AFP
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