A new group has entered the standoff between two justices of Brazil's Supreme Federal Court (STF), Alexandre de Moraes and André Mendonça. In a public note released on Saturday (Sept. 5), Intelis, the association of state intelligence professionals at the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (Abin), criticized an intelligence report attributed to the Federal Police that Moraes cited in a decision alleging a "political bias" by his colleague in the way investigations are being run.
The group said the material released "does not present characteristics compatible with the methodological parameters established by the Intelligence Activity Doctrine," which guides how knowledge is produced within Brazil's intelligence system. Intelis does not name Moraes or Mendonça and does not take a position on the investigations themselves. Its statement addresses how intelligence reports are written and used: state intelligence work "cannot be confused with criminal investigation" or with the drafting of accusatory documents, and such reports must follow procedures of collection, evaluation, analysis and validation to ensure objectivity, consistency and impartiality. "It is not an instrument meant to replace investigative procedures or to establish elements of authorship and materiality proper to criminal prosecution," the text reads.
The document drew attention after Moraes reproduced it in a decision questioning the investigations under Mendonça's responsibility. Among the excerpts cited by the justice are assessments about an alleged steering of the inquiries and an alleged "political bias" of the reporting justice, according to CNN Brasil. On Friday (Sept. 3), Moraes added Mendonça to the fake news inquiry, an investigation the STF opened in 2019 that remains without conclusion, according to Poder360.
Intelis said the episode exposes the risks of unclear limits for intelligence work. The group warned that the absence of comprehensive legislation can create a "dangerous confusion" between intelligence activity, police work and criminal prosecution. It called on the National Congress to take up Bill 6.423/2025, which would set a legal framework for intelligence activity, defining powers, limits and oversight mechanisms.
Timeline of the conflict
The dispute became public on Tuesday (Sept. 1), when Mendonça lifted the secrecy on a Federal Police report exposing messages between Daniel Vorcaro, founder of Banco Master, and Moraes. The exchanges suggest the justice discussed with the banker the possibility of a police operation targeting him, G1 reported. Mendonça asked the full court to review the material. Attorney General Paulo Gonet, Brazil's top prosecutor, said the investigation was null and opened an external control procedure to examine possible interference in the drafting of the report Mendonça had ordered.
On Friday (Sept. 4), court President Edson Fachin removed Mendonça from the fake news inquiry and gave prosecutors five business days to say whether Moraes' request is warranted; Mendonça then has five more business days to respond. On Saturday, alongside Intelis, the national association of Federal Police delegates (ADPF) asked Gonet to recuse himself from proceedings that mention him, citing Article 258 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which extends to prosecutors the rules on conflict of interest that apply to judges.
What comes next
In the Banco Master case, Fachin set Friday (Sept. 11) as the deadline for statements from Mendonça, Moraes, Gonet and Federal Police director-general Andrei Rodrigues, a timetable that pushes the full court's review past Sept. 14, Poder360 reported. The request filed by Moraes against Mendonça is only expected to reach the bench after Sept. 22, twelve days before the first round of Brazil's presidential election, scheduled for Oct. 4.