Moro Submits Evidence of Bolsonaro’s Attempted Interference in Federal Police Investigations

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The deposition of former Minister Sérgio Moro at the Federal Police headquarters in Curitiba on Saturday, May 2nd, took more than eight hours. Spanish newspaper El Pais has learned that the former Lava Jato judge submitted messages and audios exchanged as evidence of allegations that Jair Bolsonaro tried to politically interfere in the Federal Police, the body in charge of investigations that may affect the President’s three sons.

Moro reached the building, where ex-president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva served time after being convicted in Lava Jato – an operation that raised Moro to stardom – shortly after 2 PM amid competing cries of protest and support. He did not speak to the press. He ended his deposition around 11 PM.

The deposition is part of an inquiry launched with the authorization of Celso de Mello, the Dean Justice of the Supreme Court, to investigate Bolsonaro’s alleged attempt at political interference in the Federal Police and the forgery of Moro’s signature on the document that dismissed Maurício Valeixo, the then Director-General of the Federal Police.

The dismissal was the focal point of the dispute between Moro and Bolsonaro, since it occurred without the ex-Minister’s consent. Moro said he was unaware that it would occur, but nevertheless, his signature was published in the Federal Gazette notice.

On Friday, April 24th, the Justice Minister resigned his position and, at a press conference, said he had been pressured by Bolsonaro to dismiss Valeixo and replace him with someone “he could call to collect intelligence”.

The investigation was launched at the request of Augusto Aras, the Federal Prosecutor General, who signaled that both Bolsonaro and Moro could be committing crimes, depending on the progress of the inquiry. Bolsonaro is under investigation for alleged crimes of misrepresentation, coercion in the course of a lawsuit, peddling, obstruction of justice and privileged passive corruption.

The former Minister may be held liable for slanderous accusations and crimes against honor and malfeasance unless he provides evidence. Moro should have had 60 days to provide clarification, but Celso de Mello reduced this time to five days.

The deposition at the Federal Police (PF) headquarters, which once was the stage for protests and clashes between supporters of ex-President Lula and supporters of Lava Jato, on Saturday saw clashes between supporters of both Bolsonaro and Moro.

“Why don’t you investigate who tried to kill the President?”, shouted the troops loyal to the President, echoing Bolsonaro’s accusations that the police under the Minister’s orders cared little about the stabbing he suffered during the presidential campaign. The reminder of the 2018 affair was no coincidence.

Hours earlier, the President himself posted on social media about the case, wondering: “Did that Judas, who will testify today, interfere so that no investigation would take place?” The Federal Police says it has already established that there was no mastermind behind the stabbing of the then candidate by Adélio de Souza.

The investigation involving Moro is still in its initial stage. Should it be established that the President committed the crimes, the Office of the Prosecutor General (PGR) would be required to file a complaint against Bolsonaro, which will need the Chamber of Deputies’ clearance to proceed.

Countless motions for the President’s impeachment have already been lodged in Congress, and are in the hands of the Chamber president, Rodrigo Maia. To date, the deputy has argued that, due to the coronavirus pandemic, it would be inappropriate to examine the motions to remove Bolsonaro.

The exchange of accusations between Moro and Bolsonaro

On April 24th, Moro resigned from his post and, during a press conference, accused the President of trying to interfere in the PF in order to gain access to ongoing investigations and intelligence from the body.

“The president told me more than once that he wanted to have someone from his personal contacts [in the Federal Police], that he could call, gather intelligence reports. It’s really not the role of the Federal Police to provide that kind of information,” he said. The former magistrate also said the President “told me he was concerned about ongoing investigations in the Federal Supreme Court and that the change would also be timely for the Federal Police”.

The trigger for Moro’s resignation was Valeixo’s dismissal. Bolsonaro then appointed Alexandre Ramagem Rodrigues, a close friend of the Bolsonaro family, to the position. The move could be intended to shield the President’s sons: Carlos and Eduardo are in the crosshairs of an inquiry investigating the spread of fake news, and his firstborn, Flávio, is in the throes of a case that investigates a “splitting” scheme – when employees kick back part of their salary – in his office at the time he was a state deputy in Rio.

The same day Moro attacked him, Bolsonaro rebutted his ex-Minister, denying that he had asked for access to established cases: “The allegations that I would like to learn about ongoing investigations are not true,” he said.

However, Bolsonaro voluntarily acknowledged that he wanted to place someone at the head of the FP with whom he could “interact”. The ex-magistrate’s retort came in the form of printouts of his conversations with the President disclosed to TV Globo. In the conversations, Bolsonaro states that investigations against Bolsonarist deputies would be another reason “for the change” in the PF’s command.

Justice Alexandre de Moraes then decided, without the participation of the other justices, to block the appointment of Ramagem. “The occurrence of a deviation from the purpose of a presidential decision to appoint the director of the Federal Police, in violation of the constitutional principles of impersonality, morality and public interest is feasible,” wrote the magistrate in his decision.

Bolsonaro criticized the ruling, and stated that the Solicitor General of Brazil will appeal. He also attacked Moraes, and stated that the Justice was appointed to the STF because of his “friendship” with ex-president Michel Temer.