Brazilian Supreme Court Ponders Removing Dallagnol From the Command of Lava Jato

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Amid the attrition caused by the messages disclosed by reports in recent months, Federal Supreme Court justices are discussing the removal of prosecutor Deltan Dallagnol from the command of the Lava Jato operation task force in Curitiba.

The motion, disclosed by the newspaper Folha de S.Paulo on Friday, August 2nd, occurs after justices Luiz Fux and Alexandre de Moraes, in different proceedings, requested all of the messages seized by the Federal Police from the alleged hackers of officials’ cell phones.

According to the report, the magistrates are seeking ways to remove Dallagnol. Raquel Dodge, Federal Prosecutor General, could determine this measure from Brasília. The motion, however, is not viewed as likely at the moment, since the Federal Prosecutor showed to be unwilling to upset her coworkers.

The STF itself would be another option. In this case, the decision could fall to Alexandre de Moraes, within the scope of the fake news investigation, which he reported. Yesterday, the justice ordered that messages seized from alleged hackers be forwarded to the Supreme Court within 48 hours.

Justice Luiz Fux also decided in this regard, but in a separate case. In a preliminary decision, the magistrate granted the PDT’s request and ordered the preservation of evidence, amid news that the minister of justice, Sérgio Moro, had informed officials targeted by the leaks that the material would be destroyed.

The STF’s reaction occurred on the same day that Folha de S.Paulo published, in partnership with The Intercept Brasil, a report disclosing messages in which Dallagnol had encouraged fellow prosecutors to investigate justice Dias Toffoli, the current presiding justice of the Court.

This procedure is forbidden by the Constitution, which states that STF justices may not be investigated by first instance prosecutors, which is the case of Dallagnol and his fellow prosecutors at Lava Jato in Curitiba.

The justices’ potential motion to remove the coordinator of the Lava Jato task force is regarded as a further blow to the operation.

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