The Kitchen approaches the verdict: the accused present their final arguments on the alleged espionage against Bárcenas during the Rajoy Government

The Audiencia Nacional faces this Wednesday one of the decisive days of the trial of the Kitchen case, the investigation into the alleged parapolice operation designed to obtain compromising documentation that the former PP treasurer Luis Bárcenas kept during the full development of the investigations into the Gürtel case. After months of oral hearing and after listening to the Prosecutor's Office and the rest of the accusations, it will now be the turn of the defenses of the eight accused, who will begin to present their final reports to the court.

The case focuses on events that would have taken place during the first Government of Mariano Rajoy. According to the prosecution's theory, the Ministry of Interior launched a clandestine operation to access sensitive information held by Bárcenas that could affect the Popular Party and some of its leaders. Among the main defendants are former Interior Minister Jorge Fernández Díaz, former Secretary of State for Security Francisco Martínez, Commissioner José Manuel Villarejo, and former Deputy Operational Director of the Police Eugenio Pino.

The trial enters this phase after, weeks ago, the Prosecutor's Office defended before the Audiencia Nacional that there was a "criminal parapolice operation" allegedly financed with reserved funds. The Public Prosecutor's Office maintains that the objective was to recruit Bárcenas' former driver, Sergio Ríos, as a collaborator, considered a fundamental piece to access the material sought by those responsible for the plot.

Subsequently, the private and popular accusations presented their final conclusions. The State Attorney's Office maintained its accusation against Fernández Díaz and extended its action regarding Commissioner José Luis Olivera, considering that the alleged irregular use of public funds could have caused economic damage to the State. For its part, the Bárcenas family demanded sentences reaching 17 and a half years in prison for several of the main accused, including the former minister and Villarejo, while for Sergio Ríos they requested a sentence of 11 and a half years.

Also PSOE and Podemos defended their respective accusations, although introducing some modifications regarding their initial writings and partially lowering the requested penalties. Once that phase is concluded, the defenses will now try to dismantle the accusations before the procedure is ready for judgment. After their interventions, the defendants will be able to exercise their right to the last word in a case that is approaching its judicial outcome after years of investigation.

Cospedal returns to the spotlight 

The investigation into María Dolores de Cospedal within the framework of the trial for the alleged espionage of Operation Kitchen was rejected during the oral hearing and the former general secretary of the PP only testified as a witness. However, when the procedure is in its final stretch and about to be ready for judgment, the Audiencia Nacional has taken an unexpected turn by ordering new proceedings to determine if there are criminal indications related to the conversations she had with former commissioner José Manuel Villarejo.

The head of Central Investigating Court number 6 of the Audiencia Nacional, Antonio Piña, has agreed to review material seized from the former commissioner after months of having ruled out extending the case to Cospedal, despite the existence of recordings known by references such as that of "the little notebook," allusions to the parallel accounting attributed to Luis Bárcenas, or expressions such as "it would be better to be able to stop it" and "kill the bastard of the bastard," uttered in conversations related to the environment of the former PP treasurer.

The decision comes after a request made by the popular prosecution exercised by the PSOE and despite the contrary criterion of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office. In a clarifying resolution, the magistrate entrusts the Internal Affairs Unit of the National Police to examine the material seized from Villarejo to determine if there are recordings that contain possible "indications of criminality" in the conversations held with Cospedal and with Ignacio López del Hierro, her then-husband.

In addition to the recordings, the judge requests that other elements that could be relevant to the investigation be reviewed, including emails or possible bank transfers that could be related to the facts.

The audios pointing to Rajoy enter the scene

The resolution also incorporates into the case some audios broadcast by RAC1 in 2025 that until now had been left out of the judicial procedure. In one of those recordings, registered in 2014, Cospedal talks with Villarejo about documentation related to Bárcenas and assures that "the president" Mariano Rajoy "told me" that they had "found" material and that they had "cleaned up everything he had."

In another of the audios broadcast by the Catalan station, the then popular leader is interested in the situation of Sergio Ríos, the former treasurer's driver and who acted as a confidant in Bárcenas's environment. During the conversation, Villarejo raises the convenience of incorporating him into the National Police Corps to avoid leaving "loose ends" or "corpses" pending that could become a problem in the future. Finally, Ríos would end up joining the National Police. The recording also reflects that Cospedal knew that he received around 2,000 euros per month for his participation in the operation.