Brazil Senate rejects Prez Bolsonaro's request to impeach Supreme Court Justice Moraes

The leader of Brazil’s Senate on August 25 rejected President Jair Bolsonaro’s request to impeach Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. According to The Brazilian Report, Bolsonaro accused Justice Moraes of “eroding the pillars of the democratic rule of law” and “curtailing freedom of speech”. The President sought to impeach the Supreme Court Justice after he opened an investigation into Bolsonaro for allegedly leaking to the media a secret federal police report of a hacking that backed up his views that Brazil's electronic voting system was vulnerable to fraud.

According to reports, Senate President Rodrigo Pacheco rejected Bolsonaro’s request to impeach and claimed that there were no legal grounds substantiating the request. Pacheco had previously planned to ignore the plea entirely, however, members of the Supreme Court put pressure on him to take a stand. He stated that he did not see grounds for impeachment, and added that the request did not meet technical and legal requirements.

While speaking at a press conference, Pacheco said, “I forwarded the request to the Senate’s legal advisory committee, which found no legal grounds for proceedings to be opened. I follow their advice because I agree with the terms they lay down”. Further, Pacheco said that he hopes that his decision will serve as an opportunity to “establish peace among the branches of government”. 

Probe against Bolsonaro over investigation leak 

Meanwhile, earlier this month, Brazil’s top court opened a probe into President Jair Bolsonaro in connection to him posting documents from a sealed police investigation into the hacking of a federal election court, on social media. Moraes had ruled that the police officer leading the inquiry be dismissed and Bolsonaro's posts removed from social media immediately. Bolsonaro had posted the documents while continuously alleging that the election system is open to fraud. 

However, the Brazilian President is yet to present proof to substantiate the allegations made by him and the police investigation documents on the Superior Electoral Court hack are from months before the 2018 election. It is pertinent to mention that Bolsonaro, who opinion polls say is trailing behind former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in his 2022 re-election bid, has allegedly undertaken a crusade to discredit the nation’s electronic voting system and authorities who defend its authenticity. Bolsonaro has repeatedly launched a blistering attack on Luis Roberto Barroso, who is both a Supreme Court judge and the electoral court’s president.

(Image: AP/Twitter)