Brazil's Supreme Court Suspends Session on Possible Investigation into One of Its Justices - Folha de S.Paulo
Brazil’s Supreme Court (STF) suspended on Tuesday (15) an unprecedented session that was set to consider opening an investigation into Alexandre de Moraes in the Banco Master case, after Justice Flávio Dino asked for more time to review the case and a series of clashes and exchanges of insults among the justices. Without reaching a vote on the issue before the court, STF Chief Justice Edson Fachin suspended the session following Dino’s request, which can delay proceedings for up to 90 days, meaning the session is likely to resume only after the elections.
The session was set to consider a Federal Police report that cites messages between former banker Daniel Vorcaro, owner of Banco Master, and Moraes. The debate also came to involve an investigation into alleged irregularities by André Mendonça in his handling of the Master case, an issue that was scheduled to be considered in a separate session on Sept. 23. Gilmar Mendes raised the procedural question.
The pro-Moraes group argued that the two issues should be considered together, a position rejected by another group of justices. According to the preliminary result announced by Fachin, the tally stood at 4-3 against considering the cases together: Fachin, Mendonça, Luiz Fux and Cármen Lúcia voted against combining the cases, while Cristiano Zanin and Moraes voted in favor, with Dino also supporting the cases being combined, although his vote was not counted because he requested more time to review the matter.
Kassio Nunes Marques recused himself and left the courtroom, saying his priority as president of the TSE (Superior Electoral Court) is to preserve the balance of the elections. Messages extracted from the former banker’s cellphone mention payments to attorney Kevin Marques, the justice’s son. Dias Toffoli also did not vote, having already recused himself in March. He acknowledged being a partner in Maridt, a company that held a stake in the Tayayá resort in Paraná and negotiated shares in the development with a fund from the Master network.
A vote by Dino would have resulted in a tie, a scenario in which the court’s rules provide for a deciding vote by the chief justice. The procedure is uncommon and rarely used.
Dino criticized Fachin’s handling of the proceedings, saying: "There was a sacrifice of procedures, a sacrifice of formalities, a sacrifice of due process. If you don’t have procedures, you have double standards, which is a denial of justice." Moraes, despite having a stake in the case, also voted, arguing that the reports concerning him and Mendonça "overlap." Mendonça denied discussing plea bargains with people under investigation, saying: "That is a lie. A lie." Brazil’s prosecutor general, Paulo Gonet, who is mentioned in the report, denied being close to Vorcaro, saying he had only had a casual conversation with the former banker.
