Brazilian Supreme Court roiled by dispute between justices

The country’s highest court is considering investigations into two judges who have accused each other of wrongdoing.

Brazil's Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes played a key role in the conviction of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who received a 27-year sentence for plotting a coup [Adriano Machado/Reuters]

Brazil’s Supreme Court has found itself at the centre of a corruption scandal roiling the country, with the body considering investigations into two justices who have accused each other of wrongdoing.

The dispute centres on Justice Alexandre de Moraes , who oversaw the case that convicted former President Jair Bolsonaro, and Justice Andre Mendonca, a Bolsonaro appointee.

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Mendonca released a report this week showing alleged links between de Moraes and disgraced banker Daniel Vorcaro, accused of a wide-reaching fraud scheme.

De Moraes subsequently accused Mendonca of abusing his authority by unsealing the documents.

Chief Justice Edson Fachin said on Friday that he would give Brazil’s attorney general five days to weigh the allegations against Mendonca.

The court is also set to decide next week whether to investigate de Moraes.

“This may be the most dramatic moment in the history of Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court,” said Felipe Recondo, a journalist and researcher who is a longtime observer of the court.

The right has pounced on the allegations against de Moraes to cast doubt on the case against Bolsonaro, who is currently under house arrest after receiving a 27-year prison sentence for his involvement in a coup plot.

Following his loss to current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in 2022, prosecutors say Bolsonaro and his far-right allies sought to subvert the election results and derail the transition of power.

Post-election tensions culminated in an attack on key government buildings in the capital Brasilia on January 8, 2023, led by Bolsonaro supporters who allegedly hoped to trigger a military uprising.

In November 2024, Brazil’s federal police recommended charges be brought against Bolsonaro and a group of his key allies.

Bolsonaro, however, has portrayed the case as a “witch hunt” orchestrated by the left. He has received support from high-profile figures, including United States President Donald Trump.

De Moraes oversaw the Bolsonaro case, putting him at the centre of a political firestorm.

Trump’s Treasury Department briefly sanctioned De Moraes for his involvement in the Bolsonaro trial, as well as his suspensions of online platforms like Rumble and X, the latter run by Trump ally Elon Musk.

De Moraes was appointed to the Supreme Court under the presidency of Michel Temer, a centre-right politician, and he has since become a target for Brazil’s far-right, due to his involvement in sensitive cases, including Bolsonaro’s.

Experts like Recondo say the Supreme Court has served as a intermediary in some of Brazil’s most heated political fights.

“The Supreme Court can provide some balance in that game,” said Recondo. “Remove the court from that position, and all that remains is conflict. And that is a problem.”

The Vorcaro fraud scandal, however, threatens to tarnish the court’s reputation. This week’s unsealed documents suggest that the banker Vorcaro may have reached out to de Moraes for advice.

Politicians have called for de Moraes to clarify his relationship with the disgraced banker, with some calling for his resignation.

Candidates on both the right and left have both sought to portray each other as corrupt in the run-up to the country’s contentious presidential election on October 4.

That race will see the left-wing Lula face off against Bolsonaro’s eldest son, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro.

The right-wing candidate has sought to capitalise on the scandal, painting it as a conspiracy between de Moraes and the political left to dismantle his father’s legacy.

“Out with Lula! Out with Moraes! This duo has no place left in leading the Country,” Senator Bolsonaro said in a recent social media post. “It’s time for change! Brazil will win!”

The younger Bolsonaro, however, has also been tarnished by his connections to Vorcaro.

Earlier this year, the US investigative news website The Intercept Brasil published messages reportedly between Flavio Bolsonaro and Vorcaro, whom the senator was petitioning for funding.

The funding was slated to go to a film about his father, Jair Bolsonaro. Vorcaro reportedly pledged millions of dollars to back the film project. Senator Bolsonaro has denied any wrongdoing, calling it a private project.

该国最高法院正在考虑对两名互相指控对方行为不当的法官展开调查。

巴西最高法院法官亚历山大·德·莫赖斯在对前总统雅伊尔·博尔索纳罗的定罪中发挥了关键作用，博尔索纳罗因策划政变被判处 27 年监禁。[Adriano Machado/路透社]

巴西最高法院卷入了一场席卷全国的腐败丑闻，该机构正在考虑对两名互相指控对方有不当行为的法官展开调查。

这场争议的焦点在于法官亚历山大·德·莫赖斯（Alexandre de Moraes），他曾负责审理前总统雅伊尔·博尔索纳罗（Jair Bolsonaro）的案件，以及法官安德烈·门多萨（Andre Mendonca），他是博尔索纳罗任命的。

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本周，门多萨发布了一份报告，揭露了德莫赖斯与被指控犯有广泛欺诈罪行的声名狼藉的银行家丹尼尔·沃卡罗之间的所谓联系。

德莫赖斯随后指责门多萨滥用职权，擅自解封了这些文件。

首席大法官埃德森·法钦周五表示，他将给巴西总检察长五天时间来权衡对门多萨的指控。

法院还将于下周决定是否对德莫赖斯展开调查。

“这可能是巴西联邦最高法院历史上最戏剧性的时刻，”长期关注该法院的记者兼研究员费利佩·雷孔多说道。

右翼势力抓住针对德莫赖斯的指控，对博尔索纳罗的案件表示怀疑。博尔索纳罗因参与政变阴谋而被判处 27 年监禁，目前被软禁在家。

检察官称，在2022年败给现任总统路易斯·伊纳西奥·卢拉·达席尔瓦之后，博索纳罗及其极右翼盟友试图颠覆选举结果，破坏权力交接。

2023 年 1 月 8 日，选举后的紧张局势达到顶峰，博索纳罗的支持者袭击了首都巴西利亚的重要政府大楼，据称他们希望以此引发军事叛乱。

2024 年 11 月，巴西联邦警察建议对博索纳罗及其一些主要盟友提起诉讼。

然而，博索纳罗却将此案描述为左翼精心策划的“政治迫害”。他得到了包括美国总统唐纳德·特朗普在内的多位知名人士的支持。

德莫赖斯负责博索纳罗案，这使他成为政治风暴的中心人物。

特朗普的财政部曾短暂制裁德莫赖斯，原因是他参与了博尔索纳罗的审判，以及他暂停了 Rumble 和 X 等在线平台（后者由特朗普的盟友埃隆·马斯克运营）。

德莫赖斯在中间偏右的政治家米歇尔·特梅尔担任总统期间被任命为最高法院法官，此后由于他参与了一些敏感案件，包括博尔索纳罗的案件，他成为了巴西极右翼的目标。

雷孔多等专家表示，最高法院在巴西一些最激烈的政治斗争中扮演了调解人的角色。

雷孔多说：“最高法院可以在这种博弈中起到一定的平衡作用。如果最高法院不再发挥这种作用，剩下的就只有冲突。而这才是问题所在。”

然而，沃卡罗欺诈丑闻有可能损害法院的声誉。本周解封的文件显示，银行家沃卡罗可能曾向德莫赖斯寻求建议。

政界人士呼吁德莫赖斯澄清他与这位声名狼藉的银行家的关系，一些人甚至呼吁他辞职。

在10月4日该国备受争议的总统选举前夕，左右两派候选人都试图将对方描绘成腐败分子。

那场竞选将是左翼候选人卢拉与博尔索纳罗的长子、参议员弗拉维奥·博尔索纳罗之间的对决。

这位右翼候选人试图利用这起丑闻，将其描绘成德莫赖斯与左翼政治势力之间的阴谋，目的是摧毁他父亲的政治遗产。

“卢拉下台！莫赖斯下台！这两个人已经没有资格领导国家了！”参议员博索纳罗在最近的社交媒体帖子中写道。“是时候改变了！巴西必胜！”

然而，小博索纳罗也因与沃卡罗的关系而名誉受损。

今年早些时候，美国调查新闻网站 The Intercept Brasil 公布了据称是弗拉维奥·博尔索纳罗和沃卡罗之间的信息，这位参议员当时正在请求沃卡罗提供资金。

这笔资金原本计划用于拍摄一部关于他父亲雅伊尔·博尔索纳罗的电影。据报道，沃卡罗承诺投入数百万美元支持该电影项目。博尔索纳罗参议员否认有任何不当行为，称这是一个私人项目。