RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The senior Justice of the Supreme Court, Celso de Mello, has authorized the opening of an inquiry to investigate allegations that President Jair Bolsonaro attempted political interference in the Federal Police and falsified the signature of his then-Minister Sérgio Moro on an official document.
The charges that led to the investigation were made by Moro himself, who resigned from the Ministry of Justice last Friday claiming that the President wanted access to Federal Police (PF) intelligence reports, that he had an interest in influencing investigations in the Federal Supreme Court (STF) and that he had not signed the dismissal of the PF Director-General Maurício Valeixo, contrary to what was published in the Federal Gazette on Friday.
In the document calling for the opening of an investigation, the federal prosecutor-general, Augusto Aras, pointed out that both Bolsonaro and Moro could be committing crimes, depending on the progress of the investigation. The President was credited with alleged crimes of ideological falsehood, coercion in the course of proceedings, peddling, obstruction of justice, and privileged passive corruption, all of which led to an investigation.
As for the ex-Minister, an investigation into the crimes of slanderous denunciation, crime against honor, and malfeasance, should he fail to provide evidence. Moro should give a statement to the Office of the Prosecutor-General within the next 60 days, as ordered by the Justice.
The official STF site headline is: “Justice Celso de Mello authorizes the opening of an inquiry to investigate statements by ex-Minister Sérgio Moro involving the President of the Republic. The investigation was requested by the Prosecutor-General of the Republic.” The full text can be found here. [in Portuguese].
The STF authorization to conduct an inquiry turns part of the spotlight and pressure from the crisis onto Aras, appointed by Bolsonaro last September and questioned even by peers for his alignment with the President, and on the Federal Police, which is expected to undergo a turbulent transition following Valeixo’s dismissal.
Bolsonaro said on Monday that, “at first,” he should appoint to the top post in the Federal Police the current head of the Brazilian Intelligence Agency, Alexandre Ramagem, close to his family and his son Carlos, a city councillor for Rio de Janeiro.
In order not to be incriminated in the proceedings now open, Moro will have to deliver evidence to Aras. The former judge says he holds such evidence, but to date, he has only submitted a couple of messages to TV Globo’s ‘Jornal Nacional’ (Evening News), which he claims to have exchanged with the President and Deputy Carla Zambelli, of whom he was best man in the wedding.
In one of these messages, Bolsonaro requests changing the PF’s Director-General because of an inquiry that targets “Bolsonarist deputies” who, on April 19th, took part, as well as the President, in a protest in favor of a military coup, something that violates the National Security Law. On this matter, there is yet another request for an inquiry that may target the President.
In his decision, released on Monday night, Celso de Mello stated that there is nothing in the Constitution that prevents the investigation of a President and that he is not above the law.
“No one, absolutely no one, has the legitimacy to transgress and violate the laws and the Constitution of our country. Nobody, absolutely nobody, is above the authority of the state legal system,” he wrote.
According to the Constitution, the President may be investigated during his term for a common crime, one which would not suffice, theoretically, for a motion of impeachment, called crimes of responsibility. On this front, there are more than 20 motions filed against the President, but they will only proceed if Chamber President Rodrigo Maia so decides.
If Aras considers that Bolsonaro committed any of these crimes as a result of Moro’s accusations, the Office of the Prosecutor-General would need the Chamber’s consent to formally denounce him to the Court. Such approval would be granted based on the endorsement of two-thirds of the 513 deputies, i. e. 342 – the same minimum number of votes as is necessary for impeachment.
The last time the Chamber was required to assess something like this was in 2017, when it twice refused permission for Michel Temer to be investigated under Operation Lava Jato.
Moro’s ‘award-winning’ denunciation
When he delivered his farewell speech, ironically viewed by opponents as a kind of “plea-bargaining,” Moro said that Bolsonaro intended to replace PF’s Mauricio Valeixo so he could place someone he trusted. “The President wanted someone [in the PF] to call on, to gather information,” Moro said.
Then-Minister also said Bolsonaro intended to collect intel on STF inquiries, at least two of which involve his sons. One investigates whether Rio city councillor Carlos Bolsonaro is heading a group that spreads fake news that would benefit the President, while the other deals with the alleged kickback of staffmembers’ salaries by Senator Flávio Bolsonaro during his time as a state deputy in Rio de Janeiro.
“The President also told me he was concerned about ongoing investigations at the Supreme Court and that the change would also be opportune for the Federal Police,” said the former Lava Jato judge.
Bolsonaro, in turn, denies Moro’s accusations that he acted to interfere in the PF to benefit his relatives. “I never asked to shield anyone in my family. I would never do that.”
However, the President admitted that he hoped to have a [police] contact to learn about ongoing investigations, and had asked Moro to deploy federal police officers to interrogate one of the criminals who was arrested on charges of murdering Rio city councillor Marielle Franco.
Source: El País