One of the police commanders in the UDEF, when a decade ago the possible existence of a slush fund in the Popular Party was being investigated, has denied that pressure was applied to the investigative unit of the Gürtel Case to remove the name of the then Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, from their reports, as denounced two weeks ago by the head of those investigations, Chief Inspector Manuel Morocho. In the same room of the National Court where the Kitchen Operation is being tried, the retired police officer, as a witness proposed by the defendants, also declared that there was never an order to dismantle the investigative group surrounding Génova, but quite the opposite: “They were always given maximum support.”
Read more Nissan announces a redundancy plan for 211 workers in Catalonia, almost 40% of the workforce
The National Court has entered this Monday into a new week in which it should conclude the testimonies of Kitchen, the parapolice operation that between 2013 and 2015 was allegedly launched from the Ministry of the Interior led by Jorge Fernández Díaz to spy on the former treasurer of the Popular Party Luis Bárcenas with the intention that compromising documentation in his possession would end up in the hands of the judge investigating the Popular Party’s slush fund.
Morocho, who recalled how he was nicknamed “the black beast of the PP,” assured that the device to spy on Bárcenas was “a police operation without judicial authorization,” targeting the defendants’ main argument, who defend that if there was an operation it was legal, aiming to find more fortune that the former treasurer might have hidden. Today, the defenses of the accused, through a witness, have tried to discredit Morocho’s version. The chief inspector who supervised the reports insisted that he was never forced to remove references to Rajoy, nor to the former general secretary of the Popular Party, María Dolores de Cospedal. What he was told, he admitted, was that “to put” those names [Rajoy and Cospedal] “they could not rely” on initials [as appeared in Bárcenas’ Papers] “because at first it was not known if those papers were real or not.”
Read more Trump says the truce with Iran is in «palliative care» and calls his proposal «stupid»
The main Gürtel investigator spoke of a “strategy” to dismantle his group, offering more attractive positions to his subordinates, who were not replaced once they left. “Not everyone was comfortable [working under Morocho’s orders],” the witness assured, referring to the “strong character” of the chief inspector. About the Gürtel investigative group, the agent indicated that the number of people “had to increase and did increase” due to the workload, and it came to house “12 or more” officials. Figures that do not match at all with those provided by Morocho, which showed the police officers fleeing the unit. “Officials from other groups were assigned to help him, because (the reports) had to come out as soon as possible. Maximum support was always given,” he emphasized.
Read more Mbappé’s slips ignite Madrid fans: from the 2-0 photo in the clásico to another smiling in the gym
