Federal Police Identify Carlos Bolsonaro as Organizer in Criminal Fake News Scheme

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Within the Federal Police (PF), there is no doubt that Bolsonaro intended to dismiss its former director Maurício Valeixo, a trusted ally of ex-Minister of Justice Sérgio Moro, because he was aware that the police investigation had reached his son, whom he calls his #2 son, Rio de Janeiro city councillor Carlos Bolsonaro.

Removing Valeixo from the PF leadership could open the way for the President to gather intel from the Supreme Court investigation, or even replace the group of detectives in charge of the case.

One of the four detectives working on the investigation is Igor Romário de Paula, who coordinated Lava Jato in Curitiba when Sérgio Moro, was the judge overseeing the investigations.

Valeixo, the PF director dismissed by Bolsonaro, was police superintendent in Paraná at the same time and was appointed by Minister Moro to head the federal police.

On Friday, April 24th, just after Moro publicly announced his resignation, Justice Alexandre de Moraes, rapporteur of an ongoing STF inquiry, ordered the Federal Police to retain the detectives handling the case.

The inquiry was opened in March last year by the STF Presiding Justice Dias Toffoli, to investigate the use of false news to threaten and slander court justices.

Carlos Bolsonaro is susptected of being one of the group leaders who compile and spread false news and actions to intimidate and threaten public officials on the Internet. The Federal Police are also investigating the involvement of Carlos’s brother Eduardo, a federal deputy for São Paulo.

Based on statements and evidence collected, the Federal Police now seek sufficient proof to sustain an indictment at the end of the investigation.

After an article accusing him of fake news was published, Carlos shared the text on social media with the following message: “Criminal scheme of… FALSE NEWS. The name is a complete joke in itself! Corruption, trafficking, laundering, bidding? No! And have you noticed that they never mention what news that would be? It’s much easier to point out manipulation by the mainstream media. Garbage material!”.

The city councilor added: “No news scheme is required to speak my mind about Dracula, a mistress, a bully, a fussy, profiteers, saboteurs, or anyone else! There are those who do it, and they are the ones who accuse the most. We know who are friends of the journalists directing attacks!”.

Bolsonaro chose Alexandre Ramagem, now director-general of ABIN, the country’s National Intelligence Agency, to replace Valeixo. Ramagem is a friend of Carlos Bolsonaro, one of the targets of the PF investigation currently being processed in the STF.

The two became close during the 2018 election campaign, when Ramagem was in charge of the security of then-presidential candidate Bolsonaro after his stabbing in Juiz de Fora.

Carlos was the one who persuaded his father to appoint Ramagem to Valeixo’s position. The two became even closer when Ramagem was special advisor to the Planalto in the first months of government. Carlos is accused of being the mentor of the so-called “hate cabinet”, installed in the Planalto to discredit political opponents.

According to Moro’s allies, while the PF was making progress on the fake news inquiry, Bolsonaro was increasing the pressure to replace Valeixo.

Valeixo’s dismissal from his position as the federal force’s director-general led Moro to resign. He accused Bolsonaro of trying to interfere politically with the police.

On Thursday, April 23rd, Moro and Bolsonaro met and the topic of the meeting was Valeixo’s removal. Moro’s resignation was anticipated by Folha newspaper that same day.

In recent months, the President has asked Valeixo for details on the work of the police, in meetings and by telephone. According to Folha, Bolsonaro was never provided with classified information.

Bolsonaro sent Moro a message early on Thursday morning containing a link from the Antagonista website with a news story about the fake news inquiry entitled “PF hot on the heels of ten to 12 Bolsonarist deputies”.

“Another reason for the change,” the President told Moro referring to his intention to remove Valeixo.

Moro replied to Bolsonaro arguing that the investigation, in addition to not having been requested by Valeixo, was conducted by Justice Moraes in the STF.

The same group of investigating detectived in the fake news inquiry is in charge of the investigation launched on Tuesday, April 21st, also by Justice Moraes, to uncover the pro-military coup protests that took place in Brasília on Sunday last week and which were attended by Bolsonaro. As in the case of the fake news, the STF justice ruled that the detectives can not be replaced. The move is a means of shielding the investigation from the President’s personal and family interests.

The Supreme Court expects the two inquiries, those on fake news and the protests, to intersect at some point. It is suspected that entrepreneurs who financed this fake news scheme are also involved in sponsoring the demonstrations.

Coincidentally or not, Bolsonaro tightened the siege on Valeixo after this new investigation was launched.

Within the STF, people close to Moraes feel that he may close the fake news investigation shortly, in order to focus on the anti-democratic protests.

The inquiry was opened at the request of the Federal Prosecutor General (PGR), Augusto Aras, and allegedly involves at least two federal deputies who support Bolsonaro.

Aras’ goal is to investigate a potential violation of the National Security Law through “actions against Brazilian democracy regime by several citizens, including federal deputies, which justifies the STF’s [original] jurisdiction”.

Interlocutors of the Prosecutor General state that, initially, Bolsonaro will not be investigated. They caution, however, that if evidence is found that the Chief Executive helped organize the demonstrations, he may be a target of the investigation.

In his decision, Moraes cites the Constitution and stresses that the act, as described by the PGR, “proves to be extremely serious, since it is an attack on the Democratic State of Brazilian law and its republican institutions”.

Findings surrounding Bolsonaro

Fake news inquiry

In March 2019, the Presiding Justice of the STF, Dias Toffoli, announced the opening of an inquiry to investigate the existence of fake news that attacks the honor and safety of members of the court and their families. In parallel, in September that same year, the Fake News CPMI (Joint Parliamentary Committee of Inquiry) was launched in Congress.

Since then, the Bolsonaro family has been opposed to the committee’s operation, which investigates people who are part of the President’s circle of support. Both the STF and the Committee investigation, with the help of a federal police officer, include the suspicion that Carlos and Eduardo Bolsonaro are behind the “hate cabinet” allegedly operated by the Planalto Palace to attack political opponents.

Queiroz Case

In August last year, President Bolsonaro announced that he would replace the superintendent of the Federal Police in Rio, Ricardo Saadi, for issues related to management and productivity.

The force was going through a critical moment at the time, particularly after the case surfaced against Fabrício Queiroz, a retired state police officer and former advisor to Flávio Bolsonaro at the Rio de Janeiro Assembly. Queiroz is the centerpiece of the Prosecutor’s Office investigation that targeted the President’s first-born son.

The Prosecution suspects that the money comes from a “splitting” scheme – when staff members are compelled to kick back part of their salaries to officeholders. This particular case is not under the PF, but the body was involved in investigations into common figures.

Parties from the Centrão (bloc of conservative political parties)

Bolsonaro’s political isolation has prompted him to start negotiating with the Centrão parties. Several members of the bloc’s parties are targets of Operation Lava Jato, which featured Sérgio Moro as its key player until late 2018.

Some legislators suspect that Maurício Valeixo’s removal from the command of the Federal Police and the resulting undermining of Moro has been part of Bolsonaro’s arrangement with the bloc.

Pro-coup action

At the request of the Federal Prosecutor General, Augusto Aras, there is an ongoing investigation into the antidemocratic acts that Bolsonaro attended on Sunday, April 19th, in Brasília. The president may have committed another impeachable crime by speaking at the demonstration calling for a new AI-5 (Institutional Act Number Five, the most repressive of all the decrees issued by the military dictatorship) and the closure of Congress.

The investigation targets entrepreneurs and at least two federal deputies for having organized and funded the events. Their names are kept confidential.

Source: Folha de S.Paulo