The defense of former police commissioner José Manuel Villarejo accused former Partido Popular treasurer Luis Bárcenas of fabricating the Kitchen scandal with help from journalists. In closing arguments before Spain’s Audiencia Nacional, Villarejo’s lawyer, Antonio García Cabrera, rejected the prosecution’s claim that the operation sought to obtain compromising documents from Bárcenas. He argued that the case rested on media manipulation and lacked solid evidence of a coordinated effort to obstruct the Gürtel investigation.
García Cabrera denied that the operation was a clandestine plot directed by senior officials in the Interior Ministry or the National Police. He characterized it instead as an intelligence mission to trace funds allegedly hidden by Bárcenas, not to remove sensitive files from the PP. The defense contended that Bárcenas initiated the “Kitchen” label and mobilized journalists to shape public perception, describing the case as “quasi-journalistic.” These are the defense’s arguments; the court is responsible for determining criminal liability.
The defense also disputed the prosecution’s contention that Kitchen was designed to keep evidence from Gürtel investigators. García Cabrera argued that the two investigations had distinct objectives and maintained that not informing the Gürtel team about Kitchen did not, in itself, constitute a crime.
The prosecution has relied in part on Villarejo’s recordings and diary entries, which it says document the alleged recruitment of Bárcenas’s driver as a police informant and the use of Spain’s reserved funds for payments. The defense challenged the reliability of those materials, arguing that diary entries could include unverified accounts, speculation or rumors rather than factual records. The alleged use of police resources and reserved funds to obtain compromising documentation is basic to the broader Kitchen case.
Investigators presented notes and audio recordings that they said documented efforts to locate digital files containing sensitive conversations involving senior PP figures. In one recording, Villarejo is heard urging Bárcenas’s driver to find a USB lead believed to contain compromising material. The defense maintained that these actions formed part of a legitimate intelligence operation authorized by Villarejo’s superiors, including Eugenio Pino, then the National Police’s Deputy Operational Director.
The prosecution sought a 19-year prison sentence for Villarejo, alleging that he played a central role in a state-backed scheme to obstruct justice. The case concerns the alleged use of police capabilities and reserved funds during Mariano Rajoy’s government, and has raised questions about whether public security instruments served partisan interests. In July 2026, after Villarejo’s final statement, the trial was reported as ready for judgment before the Audiencia Nacional. Villarejo said, “The truth will come to light.”
The proceedings form part of wider legal and political scrutiny involving the PP and former officials. Former Interior Minister Jorge Fernández Díaz has denied criminal responsibility for the Kitchen operation. Further details of his defense strategy are covered in basic developments in the Fernández Díaz proceedings.
The Kitchen case is associated with allegations of “patriotic police” activity, claims that police resources intended for public security may have been used to protect political interests. The reported move to the judgment phase marked the end of the trial proceedings, but the cited July 2026 account did not report a final ruling. The court’s decision will determine the defendants’ criminal responsibility.
