Javier Milei Defends Chief Of Cabinet Manuel Adorni Against Corruption Accusations

Argentina’s president Javier Milei publicly defended his Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers Manuel Adorni as accusations of corruption divide the government, with Milei saying the case is “lies and fantasies.”

“Amid an environment of extreme political tension, political scientist Andrés Malamud appeared on Cuentas Claras, El Cronista Stream's program, and thoroughly analyzed the corruption scandal surrounding Chief of Staff Manuel Adorni”

El Cronista

The dispute has been building since early March, when it was revealed that Adorni took his wife—who is not a government official—on an official delegation that traveled to the United States with Milei.

El Cronista

El País says the judiciary opened a file against Adorni for illicit enrichment and that, week after week, more details emerged including trips within the country and abroad, purchases of properties and a vehicle, and lavish renovations paid in cash over the last two years.

El Mundo adds that the accusations focus on Adorni’s lifestyle, including home purchases, sumptuous renovations, and luxury trips with his family, all paid in cash in dollars.

As the government remains “trapped for nearly two months by a scandal it cannot seem to get past,” Milei reaffirmed Adorni in the post and said, “Not a chance he’s leaving.”

Senator Patricia Bullrich, leader of Milei’s group in the Senate, demanded that Manuel Adorni publicize his asset declaration and explain his multimillion-dollar expenditures, framing the issue as a test for the administration.

El País quotes Bullrich urging Adorni to publish his asset declaration and to “expedite the submission of his new asset declaration,” noting that Adorni has until July 31 after the Executive postponed the deadline by a month.

El Mundo

In a television interview, Bullrich said, “What I want is for this to last as little as possible, because the public cannot be left with the impression that we are the same as those who came to govern,” while El Mundo reports she also said, “It has to be immediate, it's stretching something that makes no sense.”

Milei responded by telling channel La Nación + that Adorni would present the papers before July 31 and by insisting, “Not a chance he’s leaving. I’m calm, Adorni is an honest person.”

El Mundo adds that Milei sent an indirect message to Bullrich by saying, “The president is me, I am the one who decides the people who accompany me,” while also blaming the press, saying, “95% of journalists in Argentina lie, they lie blatantly.”

Political scientist Andrés Malamud told El Cronista Stream’s Cuentas Claras that the corruption scandal around Chief of Staff Manuel Adorni is inseparable from “the worsening of the economic situation,” arguing that “corruption only matters when the economy is doing badly.”

“The far-right leader in the Senate, Patricia Bullrich, demands that Manuel Adorni publicize his asset declaration”

EL PAÍS

Malamud said Milei does not fire Adorni because he is “waiting for the economic situation to improve,” and he warned that the president is not taking into account “the evidentiary logic of the Judiciary,” where illicit enrichment reverses the burden of proof.

He framed the strategic fragility in terms of whether the issue is “a careless man, a particular corrupt individual you cut and the problem ends, or does the whole Government work this way?” and argued that firing Adorni could mean admitting “that this is structural, that it goes far beyond him.”

El País reports that the case is especially delicate for Milei because he came to power attacking the “political caste” and presenting “morality as state policy,” while polls place concern about corruption at the top alongside inflation and unemployment.

With the government “trapped” by the scandal and the judiciary investigating illicit enrichment, the immediate stake is whether Adorni’s asset declaration and the unfolding judicial file can end the dispute that Milei says is driven by “lies and fantasies.”