Original article: Caso Steinert sacude a La Moneda: oposición investigará qué sabían Kast, el Segundo Piso e Interior

Steinert Case Shakes La Moneda: Opposition to Investigate What Kast, Second Floor, and Interior Minister Knew

The opposition officially launched an attack on former Security Minister Trinidad Steinert on Tuesday by announcing the formation of a Special Investigative Commission (CEI) in the Chamber of Deputies. This follows a ruling from the Comptroller General of the Republic which determined that the former official acted beyond her legal authority by requesting confidential information from the PDI regarding an investigation in which she previously participated as a prosecutor. The case has brought the potential responsibilities of President José Antonio Kast, the Second Floor team at La Moneda, and Interior Minister Claudio Alvarado into the political spotlight, raising questions about their knowledge of the irregular actions committed by the former secretary of state.

The parliamentary body will seek to establish the political and administrative responsibilities resulting from this incident, clarify the roles played by other executive authorities, and determine whether any breaches occurred that warrant new oversight actions. While lawmakers have currently ruled out pursuing a constitutional charge, they cautioned that this option remains on the table and will depend on the findings that emerge during the investigation. «What did the President know, what did the Second Floor know, and what actions did the Interior Minister take?» has become the pivotal question guiding the commission’s work.

In the ruling issued on July 1 by Comptroller General Dorothy Pérez, it was determined that Steinert, by requesting information from the Police of Investigations (PDI), exceeded her legal powers by demanding a detailed list of officials, including names, identification numbers, ranks, and disciplinary records from a unit related to the investigations of the so-called «Clan Chen» in Tarapacá.

Opposition Concerns

Tatiana Urrutia, a deputy from the Frente Amplio and member of the Security Commission, stated that the Government must answer «all the questions it previously refused to answer» and emphasized that the case transcends political disputes, noting that the minister in charge of Public Security interfered in an investigation related to organized crime, as reported by El Mostrador.

Independent-PPD Deputy Jaime Araya defended the decision to begin with an investigatory commission rather than a charge and pointed out the importance of avoiding political misuse of constitutional charges, stressing the need to first determine «what the President knew, what the Second Floor knew, and what actions the Interior Minister took» regarding Steinert’s actions, which were deemed illegal by the Comptroller’s Office for exceeding her powers. However, he made it clear that if serious new evidence emerges, they wouldn’t rule out pursuing constitutional action.

From the PS, Deputy Raúl Leiva stated that the Special Investigative Commission should analyze the government’s actions and their potential effects on other state agencies, while Deputy DC Patricio Pinilla highlighted that the opposition chose to act prudently, although he insisted that constitutional charges remain a possibility once more information is gathered.

In a similar vein, Deputy Raúl Soto (PPD) urged the opposition to act with restraint and indicated that the priority should be gathering evidence through the investigatory commission. He warned that a charge in this context could be interpreted as a «political vendetta» following the recent failure of the right’s offensive against former Minister Nicolás Grau.

Steinert’s Legal Strategy

In parallel with the opposition’s efforts, Steinert requested Comptroller Dorothy Pérez reconsider the ruling, arguing legal errors, violations of her right to defense, and a weakening of the powers granted to the Ministry of Security. In light of this scenario, Deputy Leiva indicated that the Government must clarify its position and warned that discrediting the ruling «does not contribute to strengthening the institutions,» as noted by El Mostrador.

La Moneda’s Position

Security Minister Martín Arrau stated that his ministry will respect the Comptroller’s rulings and that the Executive will cooperate by providing any information requested by the parliamentary commission, while Interior Minister and Spokesperson for the Government, Claudio Alvarado, although he acknowledged La Moneda respects the Comptroller’s ruling regarding Steinert, attempted to downplay the implications of her actions by arguing that «all ministers can inadvertently make mistakes».

Featured image: Diario U. de Chile.