Supreme Federal Court (STF) Justice Luiz Fux on Tuesday canceled the afternoon session of the court's Second Panel. The five-judge panel is weighing a decision by Justice André Mendonça that removed Federal Police director-general Andrei Rodrigues and the force's intelligence chief, Leandro Almada, from their posts on a preventive basis.
According to Folha de S.Paulo, the panel was set to meet in person after the review began in the court's virtual plenary, a remote system in which justices file votes without debate. Justice Gilmar Mendes then asked for a vista, a request for more time to study a case, which suspended the review, and Fux, who chairs the panel, canceled the session. The panel's Tuesday agenda had a single case, unrelated to Mendonça's decision, according to news outlet G1.
Where the vote stands
The Second Panel brings together Fux, Mendonça, Gilmar Mendes, Kassio Nunes Marques and Dias Toffoli. Toffoli has recused himself from cases tied to the Banco Master scandal and did not vote. Mendonça, Fux and Marques have backed keeping the removals in place, with Fux and Marques casting their votes early after Gilmar's request. Three votes already form a majority on the panel, according to G1.
The delay does not overturn Mendonça's injunction, which remains in force. With Rodrigues out, executive director William Murad is running the Federal Police on an interim basis. The ruling also ordered investigative proceedings at the force's internal affairs office and suspended Federal Police reports on judges, government lawyers and federal officers.
The rift between Mendonça and Justice Alexandre de Moraes deepened after the disclosure of intelligence reports produced by the Federal Police. Mendonça says he was subjected to "systematic monitoring" by the force and that six reports were produced between August 3 and 31. He says the material was sent by Rodrigues on September 1.
What comes next: the review stays suspended until Gilmar Mendes returns the case to the panel. InfoMoney reports that justices are using the extra time to seek a behind-the-scenes way out of the standoff. The injunction stands in the meantime.