Bulletins and News Discussion from August 12th to August 18th, 2024 - Marshall Plan: Now As Farce - COTW: Ireland

Phase 2 of Musk's "free Bolsonaro" campaign has begun, with help from sidekick Greenwald, who's released WhatsApp chats from Supreme Court Justice Moraes' staff showing him "informally directing" an Electoral Court investigation. The problem is there's nothing illegal about it.

In the pages of Folha de S. Paulo, Glenn uses US law to claim his leaked messages prove that the Supreme Federal Court (STF) minister illegally acted 'outside the procedural framework' by having his staff request Superior Electoral Court (TSE) reports on investigation suspects.

The problem with this argument is that,when the chats took place, Moraes was also President of the Superior Electoral Court, conducting a court police investigation into the January 8 coup attempt. In other words, he asked staff to request reports issued by his own subordinates.

Furthermore, Brazilian law 9.504 grants the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) police powers to make requests that support investigations.

Moraes, who stepped down from the Electoral Court presidency this year, says, ""It would be schizophrenic for me, as the president of the Superior Electoral Court, to issue an order to myself."

"Especially since, as the president of the TSE, in exercising police powers, I had the authority, under the law, to order the creation of the reports. This investigative method is still possible today."

"This sharing of evidence, which is a method approved by the Supreme Court, would now involve me issuing an order to Minister Cármen [Lúcia], who is the current president of the Electoral Court. As president, TSE, she would direct the advisory team to prepare the report."

On the issue, Legal scholar Renato Ribeiro de Almeida says, "the minister shared electoral matters with the Electoral Court (TSE), while matters of a criminal nature were sent to the Supreme Court office."

"In this case the same individual, Alexandre de Moraes, occupied two positions, one at the TSE at that time and another at the Supreme Court but this is a discussion about who holds positions at the TSE."

"Our legislation states that three Supreme Court ministers serve on the TSE, including in the roles of president and vice president. Therefore, there is no irregularity in this regard."

Journalist Reinaldo Azevedo says, "One may dislike the fact that three of the seven judges of the TSE are also Supreme Court judges; one may dislike the fact that the electoral court has an Integrated Center for Fighting Disinformation and Defending Democracy;

"one may dislike the police powers that the electoral court possesses. Well, try to change the law. But don't call what is legal "non-procedural" just because you can't use the word "illegal."

Greenwald's phony "smoking gun" has been greeted with delight by Brazil's far right. Prosperity Gospel Pastor/Senador Damares Alves - who claims to have once "spoken to Jesus in a guava tree", has filed an impeachment request against Moraes.

On this, journalist and political scientist Leonardo Sakamoto writes, "Despite the outcry from the Bolsonaro opposition, there is no chance in the foreseeable future that the Senate will approve an impeachment of the minister."

"However, the far right will use the case to try to equate Jair's situation with Lula's in the Lava Jato investigation (a weak comparison), in an attempt to reinforce their narrative of persecution."

Meanwhile, Musk, Greenwald, Eduardo Bolsonaro and their wealthy allies have been holding a two-day, twitter circle jerk pushing this false narrative to bury any exposure of the fact that nothing illegal happened, in a flooding attack against the right to freedom of information.

Bottom line: In less than 2 months, Brazil will hold mayoral elections in 5565 municipalities. The timing of Greenwald and Musk's attack against the Electoral Court seems designed to strengthen far right candidates. Therefore, it looks like a case of foreign election meddling.

Finally, although it seems highly unlikely, impeaching Justice Moraes, a conservative who was appointed by coup President Michel Temer, would give Lula the opportunity to nominate his 3rd Supreme Court Justice in 2 years.

Justice Flávio Dino, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), ordered on Wednesday (14) the suspension of the execution of the impositive amendments to the Union Budget. According to the decision, payment should be suspended until the Legislative and Executive branches create transparency and traceability measures for the funds.

The minister's decision was motivated by an action filed with the Court by the Liberty and Socialism Party (Left). The party claimed that the model of individual and bench amendments for federal deputies and senators makes preventive control of spending “impossible”.

The party also argued that the model causes “disruption” in the separation of powers by shifting part of the budget management from the Executive to the Legislative.

In ruling on the issue, Dino understood that the suspension of the amendments is necessary to avoid irreparable damage to the public coffers. According to the decision, only amendments earmarked for works in progress and to deal with public calamities can be paid.

“The resulting damage is irreparable or difficult to repair, as it is very laborious and time-consuming to reimburse the treasury millions or billions of reais, in the event of a future investigation into responsibility for hypothetical illegalities, such as non-existent surgeries, ghost roads, health costs with no results for the population, unfeasible projects in NGOs, purchase of cold bills, among other anomalies of possible configuration,” said the minister.

Dino also said that the portion of the budget allocated to parliamentarians could make spending on public policies unfeasible.

“The percentage of commitment of the discretionary portion of the budget tends to evolve more and more randomly and make it impossible to achieve public policies, reaching the core of the principle of separation of powers, whose effectiveness must be immediately safeguarded,” he concluded.

Last week, Flávio Dino also maintained the suspension of the so-called “Pix amendments” to the Union Budget.

The amendments were created by Constitutional Amendment 105 of 2019 and allow deputies and senators to allocate individual amendments to the Union Budget through special transfers. Under the measure, the transfers do not require the indication of programs and the signing of agreements.

The minister understood that the implementation of the amendments can continue in the case of works in progress and public calamities. The release of funds is conditional on meeting transparency and traceability requirements.