Former Brazilian anti-corruption judge Sergio Moro was interrogated for nearly eight hours by police on Saturday May 2. The former justice minister made serious accusations against far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, who he said was trying to interfere in police investigations.
Sergio Moro arrived at the Federal Police headquarters in Curitiba (south of the country) shortly before 2 p.m. and did not leave until late at night. Shortly before his arrival, several dozen pro-Bolsonaro or pro-Moro demonstrators gathered outside the entrance and the police had to separate the two camps.
The content of the statement was not released, but the daily Estado de S. Paulo said on its site that the former minister had shown exchanges of messages and emails with the head of state. The content of these messages has not been revealed.
Previously considered a key asset of the Bolsonaro government, Sergio Moro resigned with a bang on April 24, after the dismissal of one of his closest collaborators, the chief of the federal police, Mauricio Valeixo.
"The change in the head of the federal police without real cause is a political interference which undermines my credibility and that of the government," he launched in a press conference the day of his resignation.
"The president told me he wanted to name a person he would have personal contact with, whom he could call to inquire about the investigations," he added, of charges which Jair Bolsonaro deems "unfounded". .
Several federal police investigations have targeted relatives of the president, including his sons.
These explosive revelations prompted the attorney general to demand the opening of an investigation, authorized in the wake of the Supreme Court which had ordered that Sergio Moro be interrogated within 60 days, a period reduced to five days thereafter.
This investigation could pave the way either for dismissal proceedings against Jair Bolsonaro or for prosecution for reporting an imaginary crime against Sergio Moro.
On Saturday morning, the head of state called his ex-minister "Judas" on Twitter.
.Os constituants estão em Brasília?
.O Judas, that hoje deporá, interferiu para que não is investigasse?
.Nada farei que não esteja de acordo com a Constituição.
.Mas também NÃO ADMITIREI que facam contra MIM e ao nosso Brasil passando por cima da mesma. https://t.co/Tj5aDO2LUr
In an interview published Friday with the weekly Veja, Sergio Moro said he would present evidence of his charges during his interrogation. He also said that the fight against corruption was "not the priority" of the government.
Jair Bolsonaro was elected in October 2018, promising a merciless fight against corruption and crime.
Sergio Moro agreed to end a 22-year career in the judiciary to enter government, when he was seen as the emblem of the fight against corruption in the context of Operation "Express Wash", which put dozens of leaders of all stripes behind bars.
His image had however been tarnished last June, when the investigative site The Intercept Brasil revealed exchanges of messages with prosecutors, having seriously questioned his impartiality in the context of the sentencing to a heavy prison sentence in l ex-president Luiz Inacio lula da Silva, for corruption.
With AFP
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