Justice considers biased judge and annuls lawsuits against Cristina Kirchner

The Argentine Justice annulled, this Tuesday (13), a case against the vice-president Cristina Kirchner. She was investigated for alleged irregular use of the fleet of presidential planes during his terms, between 2007 and 2015.

The Federal Chamber of Criminal Cassation considered the judge in the case, Claudio Bonadio, who died in 2020, partial, since he himself had been the whistleblower. Bonadio had opened the process in order to determine whether the Casa Rosada aircraft were used to transport residential furniture and personal documents to the Peronist leader’s properties in Patagonia.

In the resolution, the Chamber questioned the performance of Bonadio, who had played the role of whistleblower in the case and later, through a draw, had been chosen to be the investigating judge.

Therefore, the court held that it was a violation of the right to be tried by an impartial magistrate.

“Due to the violation of a basic guarantee that affects the legal system, it must be overturned with the sanction of nullity of everything that was done by the complaining judge and at the same time that he investigates the case”, said the judge Alejandro Slokar when declaring the nullity of Bonadio’s works.

The decision impacts other cases in which the late judge acted against the former president of Argentina.

the impartial judge

Judge Claudio Bonadio died as a result of complications caused by a brain tumor in 2020. Bonadio was responsible for some lawsuits filed against former president Cristina Kirchner and senior officials from the period in which the Peronist held the presidency, from 2007 to 2015 .

The judge collected controversies during his career in the Argentine Justice. Known as “the Aspero”, he was responsible for leading the biggest corruption investigation ever carried out in the country, considered by many as a local Lava-Jato.

During his 26 years as a magistrate, Bonadio used and abused the legal lawfare, starring in several confrontations with the current vice president of the country in recent years. He once summoned her to testify seven times in a single day.

Alone, he issued nine preventive detention orders against Kirchner, in addition to pursuing the former president’s children, Maximo and Florencia, in court.

In September 2001, in another bizarre case, Bonadio killed a robber during an attempted robbery in the metropolitan area of ​​Buenos Aires. In 2017, the then judge of the 13th Federal Court of Curitiba, Sergio Moro, even met with the Argentine judge.

At the time, it was rumored in the Argentine capital that Bonadio admired the Brazilian’s work and encouraged collaboration between the two countries. In 2021, like his Argentine counterpart, Moro was considered impartial in President Lula’s cases.