Lava Jato Used Denunciation Against Lula to “Create a Diversion,” Says The Intercept

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – This is what a report from The Intercept Brasil says, released in the early hours of Monday, October 14th. After the disclosure of the content, Lula’s defense has already asked that the messages be considered in the case proceedings.

According to messages obtained by the website, prosecutor Jerusa Viecelli reported on May 17th, 2017, in a task force group in the Telegram app, that the denunciation against Lula was ready.

However, hours before, the audios involving Temer and Joesley surfaced. As a result, the group chose to defer the disclosure of the denunciation, which was done five days later.

Before setting the date, the head of the task force, Deltan Dallagnol, approached the Office of the Prosecutor General (PGR) on May 21st, 2017 to inquire if there would be an operation in Brasília so as not to disrupt the attention.

Upon learning that there would be no operation, Dallagnol released the disclosure of the denunciation against Lula. In the group, prosecutor Carlos Fernando dos Santos Lima said that the fact would “create a diversion and show work” by Lava Jato.

The website disclosed the content of the conversations between prosecutors in the app group. In the first days, the group’s participants – who had no connection with the JBS report – echo the leaked audio.

At the time, it was suspected that the dialogue had been edited before disclosure of its content, which affected the credibility of Janot and the PGR. After Viecelli told the group ‘Filhos do Januário 1’ about the denunciation, Dallagnol says it is better to wait.

“Tomorrow will be engulfed in new facts. And just between us, tomorrow we should have surprises,” he posted at 8:11 PM on May 17th, when the audios had already been released by the newspaper O Globo.

Two days later, Santos Lima says Temer’s administration would be compromised. “The dialogues are untenable in the political context. There is no turning back for Temer. Even more so since Globo is not soothing things like the newspapers in São Paulo,” said the prosecutor, according to the messages obtained by The Intercept.

However, Viecelli refutes and does not see the same impact. “Yes, in the political context. But in terms of crime, the audios are not as serious as announced,” he said.

“Creating a diversion”

On May 21st, the eve of the denunciation against the leftist, Santos Lima made a suggestion in the group ‘Filhos do Januário 1’: “Maybe it’s time to release Lula‘s denunciation. So we put something together until the report,” he said.

“I think time is looking good, too. I’m going to check if there’s an operation in Brasília. If there is, it will steal the spotlight,” replied Dallagnol.

Minutes later, according to The Intercept Brasil, Dallagnol got in touch with another group on Telegram – this time, with colleagues from the PGR.

“We are trying to release Lula’s new denunciation that would have come out last week, but we held on to it. However, if you are having a party there, it would be engulfed by new facts. Can you guide me on any dates this week? My fear is that we will release it one day and there’s an operation the next day because then it will kill the repercussion,” Dallagnol said.

“No operations planned for this week,” reacted a colleague.

Then Dallagnol came back to the group of prosecutors and confirmed the intended, which was approved by prosecutor Jerusa Viecili: “We’ll release it tomorrow”.

According to The Intercept, Santos Lima also agreed and said the following sentence: “We will create a diversion and show work”.

Weeks after the conversations, an investigation made by the INC (National Institute of Criminology), a body linked to the Federal Police, found that there had been no interruptions or edits in the recording between Temer and Joesley.

Contacted by The Intercept Brasil website, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office of Paraná replied that “when no legal issue (such as the existence of time limit or risk of limitation) or reason of public interest determines the moment of lodging a denunciation or complaint, the task force is attentive to the communication team regarding the best moment for its disclosure”.

The website also approached Santos Lima, but he failed to reply to inquiries. The PGR said it would not comment.

Since the beginning of the disclosure of the denunciations by The Intercept Brasil, Dallagnol claims that the content was criminally sourced.

Source: UOL