Judge quits porn video case

The National Court removed a judge from one of the most sensitive cases in Spain, one involving a sexually explicit video allegedly featuring a muckraking newspaper editor. Judge Javier Gomez de Liano was removed by the court at his own request after it agreed his independence had been compromised by testimony that he himself might be in another videotape that has not been distributed yet.

The action comes a week after Judge Gomez opened the inquiry into allegations that ex-officials of the previous Socialist government produced and distributed a pornographic video to discredit Pedro Ramirez, editor of El Mundo, a major daily. AP - Madrid