Justice Kassio Nunes Marques recused himself on Tuesday (15) from the session of Brazil's Supreme Court, the STF, that is examining a Federal Police report on messages sent by Daniel Vorcaro, the former banker at the center of the so-called Master case, to Justice Alexandre de Moraes. Nunes Marques heads the Superior Electoral Court, the TSE, which runs Brazilian elections, and said the ruling could affect this year's race. He then asked Chief Justice Edson Fachin for permission and left the chamber. The colleague "has an election to take care of", Fachin said, according to BBC News Brasil.
"I believe I have a mission (...) which is to ensure balance in the 2026 elections. (...) So I do not feel comfortable taking part in this judgment. I declare myself barred," the justice said, right after Fachin presented his report.
Before the announcement, Nunes Marques defended himself on the floor. Dialogues extracted from Vorcaro's phone, disclosed on Monday, mention the justice and his son, the lawyer Kevin Marques. In one exchange, Banco Master's former legal director Luiz Rennó replies to Vorcaro with data on Kevin and a reference to 500,000 reais a month; payments would be routed through the consultancy Consult Inteligência Tributária, according to the news site G1.
"I have never judged any case related to Master. My son never provided any service to the bank and was never paid by the bank," the justice said. He also said he had never spoken with Vorcaro and claimed "absolute impartiality". In a statement, the defense of Kevin Marques confirmed that he received 281,600 reais from Consult for tax-related legal work and denied any link to the Supreme Court.
Effect on the court
The withdrawal weakens Justice André Mendonça in the court's internal dispute, according to an analysis by the newspaper Folha de S.Paulo. Nunes Marques had voted with Mendonça in every ruling of the inquiry so far and endorsed his decision to remove Andrei Rodrigues as head of the Federal Police. Mendonça now has one close ally left on the bench, Luiz Fux. Moraes, the initial target of the session, has been backed by Justices Flávio Dino, Cristiano Zanin and Gilmar Mendes, the newspaper reports.
Justice Dias Toffoli is not voting either. He declared himself suspect in March, stepping away from Master case rulings after reports that he had sold his stake in a resort in Paraná state to a fund linked to Banco Master, and he reaffirmed the position on Tuesday. He stayed in the chamber. "If I find it necessary to speak, I will," he said.
The session, which Folha called unprecedented, decides whether Moraes becomes the target of an investigation over his ties to Vorcaro. Fachin opened the proceedings by recalling that Prosecutor General Paulo Gonet has asked for the Federal Police inquiry to be annulled. Voting continues among the remaining justices, about three weeks before the first round of Brazil's presidential election.