's autonomy and Article 158 of the Political Constitution, which establishes that the
"Let the autonomy of the Public Ministry be respected, respect Article 158 — only the Board of Supreme Prosecutors can validly elect and decide who serves as Attorney General, and that must be respected: autonomy and independence," the magistrate told Hildebrandt en sus Trece on Monday night.
Espinoza said she has not yet been formally notified of the decision by Congress' Constitutional Accusations Subcommittee, which declared admissible the constitutional complaint against her for failing to comply with the National Justice Board's (JNJ) resolution reinstating Patricia Benavides as Attorney General.
However, Espinoza stated that the complaint stems from an alleged or nonexistent contempt on her part and reiterated that the JNJ's resolution in question does not comply with the law.
"From the beginning, and always in accordance with the law, the only thing I pointed out to them was that they had not notified properly, as required by their organic law and regulations. The deliberation and vote on that disciplinary procedure —which has been officially declared null— were not recorded on audiovisual media as the law requires; the corresponding signed minutes were not provided either," she stated.
Additionally, the Attorney General argued that the Constitutional Accusations Subcommittee acted with unusual and suspicious speed in her case by not following the regular procedure for constitutional complaints.
In this regard, Espinoza noted that since last year she has filed constitutional complaints against high-ranking officials, which have not been placed on the agenda yet.
"I will not back down, I will not retreat, and I will not be paralyzed by fear, because certain individuals are carrying out a selective persecution," she emphasized.
Espinoza also questioned the current talks of reorganizing the Public Ministry and the tendency to blame this institution for all the country's problems.
"If the Attorney General and the other supreme prosecutors —or even just one of them— are dismissed from office, that constitutes a breakdown of constitutional order. There is no legal basis for dismissing or removing us from office under the guise of a supposed reform," Espinoza stressed.
"That is an attack on democracy and a violation of the separation of powers," she concluded.