On Thursday, February 17, the Supreme Court suspended the execution of the ruling that forced the journalist Santiago O’Donnell to hand over the originals of the recordings he obtained from the interviews with Mariano Macribrother of former president Mauricio Macri.
The highest court declared “formally admissible the appeal of complaint” presented by O’Donnell through his lawyer Damián Loretti, and in the same ruling ordered “the suspension of the procedure”so the journalist will not have to deliver the audios.
© Provided by Profile
The journalist and author of the book “Hermano”, Santiago O’Donnell.
“The arguments expressed in the extraordinary appeal and maintained in the complaint could, prima facie, involve issues of a federal order and eventually the appealed decision could generate damage that is impossible to repair later,” said the court.
“The complaint is appropriate, without this implying a pronouncement on the merits of the matter”, indicated the corresponding judges through the ruling to which he was able to access Telam. After the decision, the journalist spoke with said agency.
© Provided by Profile
One of the brothers of former President Mauricio Macri, Mariano Macri.
The statements of Santiago O’Donnell and a brief review of the case
“I feel a great relief and I thank the Court for having taken up such an important issue for freedom of expression and the defense of journalistic sources,” the journalist said. Those were the only comments from him regarding what happened.
The case came to court in December 2020, when the brother of former president Mauricio Macri filed a filed before the National Court in which he requested the recordings of the interviews that he had done O’Donnell.
Santiago O’Donnell broadcast the audios of Mariano Macri on wind farms
Likewise, he intended to file a civil suit for damages against the journalist. In February 2021, the judge in the case, Andrea Imatz, agreed to the request made by Mariano Macri and determined that O’Donnell should hand over the tapes.
With the decision adopted this Thursday, the judges Horacio Rosatti, Carlos Rosenkrantz, Juan Carlos Maqueda and Ricardo Lorenzetti determined that there could be “issues of order” at stake; such as breach of professional secrecy.
What is the book “Brother” about?
The book “Brother, Mariano Macri’s confession about the plot of power, politics, business and family of his brother Mauricio”, is a journalistic investigation carried out by O’Donnell and published by the Sudamericana publishing house.
JFG