Fachin Takes the Mendonca Case Away From the Moraes Inquiry
BRAZIL · POLITICS
Key Facts
- —What happened Chief Justice Edson Fachin removed the request to investigate Justice Andre Mendonca from the fake news inquiry.
- —Where it went The request now sits in a separate petition handled directly by the court presidency rather than by Moraes.
- —Why it matters Moraes both requested the investigation and ran the inquiry it was filed in, which critics called a conflict.
- —The catch Fachin has not refused the investigation, so the request survives and could still reach the full court.
- —Who must speak first The prosecutor general and Mendonca himself must give written positions before the plenary considers anything.
- —What comes next The court sits under heavy security through Brazil’s Independence Day on Monday, 7 September.
It is a procedural move, not a verdict. In a court where procedure is the whole fight, it is the first real check on Alexandre de Moraes in months.
Brazil’s chief justice has taken the Mendonca case out of the hands of Alexandre de Moraes. Edson Fachin issued the decision on Friday, 4 September.
The request to investigate Justice Andre Mendonca had been filed inside the court’s long-running fake news inquiry. Moraes runs that inquiry and made the request himself.
Fachin moved it into a separate petition under the court presidency. He has not yet decided whether any investigation opens at all.
For a court that has spent weeks arguing about itself, that is the first concrete change. Everything before it was argument.
Why the Move Matters
The fake news inquiry is the instrument Moraes has used for years. It gives the reporting justice unusually wide powers over what is investigated and how.
Filing a request against a fellow justice inside that same inquiry put Moraes on both sides. He was the author of the request and the judge of it.
Fachin’s decision separates those roles. The matter now moves at the pace of the presidency, not of the inquiry.
That is a procedural setback rather than a defeat. It changes who controls the file.
What Has to Happen Before Anything Else
Two written positions are required first. The prosecutor general must weigh in, and Mendonca must be heard.
Only after that can the matter go to the full court. Eleven justices would then decide whether to open anything.
That sequence buys time in the Mendonca case. It also puts the prosecutor general, who sits outside the court, into a dispute the bench could not settle itself.
How the Mendonca Case Got Here
The dispute became public in late August. A federal police report questioned the conduct of one of the justices.
Moraes then asked the court to investigate Mendonca. Newspapers began calling openly for Moraes to leave the bench.
The prosecution service separately asked for the police report on Moraes to be annulled. Nothing has been settled on that either.
Justice Carmen Lucia said publicly that there were errors on both sides. That line has since become the pressure point.
The Pressure on Carmen Lucia
Senator Flavio Bolsonaro is now pushing her to act on her own words. He wants her to vote to investigate Moraes.
She has not said she will. Her position so far distributes blame rather than assigning it.
Her vote matters because the court is closely split. On a bench of eleven, a single justice decides most contested questions.
The Other Fault Line
Justice Gilmar Mendes has proposed barring police from entering justices’ offices. It is aimed at the searches that started the crisis.
That proposal is now reported to conflict with the Ministry of Justice position. The executive and the court are therefore no longer aligned on it.
The Banco Master case runs underneath all of this. Part of the court reportedly views a Mendonca ruling in that case as political in itself.
Outside the Court
Vice President Geraldo Alckmin has called for an investigation into the Sao Paulo governor’s ties to the Banco Master affair. He asked simply that the truth be brought out.
A group of business figures and economists is drafting a manifesto. It demands fact-finding and more transparency at the court.
Markets have not reacted the way the headlines suggest. The Ibovespa had one of its strongest sessions of the year on Friday.
Brazil’s sovereign risk sits near its lowest level since 2020. Foreign buyers were reported on the Brazilian exchange that day.
What to Watch in the Mendonca Case
The first marker is the prosecutor general’s written position on the Mendonca case. It will show whether the executive wants this fight escalated or closed.
The second is whether Carmen Lucia moves. If she votes to investigate Moraes, the court crosses a line it has avoided for years.
The court sits under reinforced security through Independence Day on Monday. That detail says more about the temperature than any ruling.
More: Brazil news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Fachin actually decide in the Mendonca case?
He removed the request to investigate Justice Andre Mendonca from the fake news inquiry run by Alexandre de Moraes, and moved it into a separate petition handled by the court presidency. He did not decide whether to open an investigation.
Why is that a setback for Moraes?
Moraes made the request and also ran the inquiry it was filed in, so he was effectively author and judge. Moving the file to the presidency separates those roles.
What happens next?
The prosecutor general and Mendonca must both give written positions. Only after that can the full court of eleven justices consider whether any investigation opens.
Sources: CBN, Folha de S.Paulo, Estadao, O Globo, Poder360, Conjur, Reuters, Rio Times.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error
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