Bolsonaro Advocated Federal Police Replacement to Shelter Family and Allies

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – In the Cabinet meeting video dated April 22nd, aired on Tuesday, May 12th, President Jair Bolsonaro advocated changes in the Rio Federal Police command to prevent his family and friends from being “harmed” by ongoing investigations.

According to the report of three sources who watched the video, Bolsonaro said he would like to replace the superintendent of the Rio de Janeiro Federal Police bureau and that he would dismiss the then Minister of Justice Sérgio Moro if he would not do it. When he resigned, Moro accused the President of politically interfering with the Federal Police.

In reaction, Bolsonaro said yesterday afternoon that he did not say the words “Federal Police”, “superintendent” and “investigation” during the meeting.

According to sources who watched the video, during the meeting, Bolsonaro said he needed to “know things” that were happening in the Federal Police of Rio and cited that ongoing investigations could “harm my family” or “my friends”.

Under these arguments, the President said he would exchange the Superintendent of Rio, the Director-General of the Federal Police, or even the Minister of Justice, to ensure that he had access to intelligence and that people close to him would not be harmed.

Bolsonaro referred to the Superintendency of the Federal Police using the term “security” when addressing the need to protect family members from persecution or threats in Rio, without going into detail about the reasons for the concern.

According to reports, the President mentioned that he had already tried to replace “security” in Rio and that this time he would finally effect this replacement. In the same speech, Bolsonaro said that if he could not change the “security” in Rio, he would change the Director-General or the Minister himself.

According to investigators, the President explicitly confirmed that he would replace key Federal Police posts by appointing a person he trusted who would guarantee him access to intelligence on investigations into relatives and close associates.

In the same video, Bolsonaro criticizes Moro and complains about his failure to defend the government in times of legal defeat and asks for greater commitment.

Federal Supreme Court (STF) Justice Celso de Mello ordered the Federal Police to transcribe the video’s statements in their entirety and before he would decide on its public release.

After the Cabinet meeting video was aired, Sérgio Moro’s defense stated that it “fully confirms the ex-Minister’s statements” and argued for the video to be released in its entirety.

The video was aired privately on Tuesday at the National Institute of Crime Investigation (INC), headquarters of the Federal Police forensics department in Brasília. Sérgio Moro was present to watch the video along with his attorneys.

Also present were federal police officers, prosecutors from the Office of the Federal Prosecutor General (PGR), and members of the Solicitor General’s Office (AGU), which is in charge of Bolsonaro’s defense. Everyone was required to leave their cell phones outside the room.

The INC also set up an isolation scheme for the area near the room where the video was aired. Next to the cafeteria, experts were recommended to avoid the site because the area was being used for “sensitive” matters.

The viewing was scheduled to take place early in the morning, but due to delays, it only started near noon, ending at around 2:30 PM.

Source: O Globo