President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said on Thursday (10) that Supreme Federal Court justices Alexandre de Moraes and André Mendonça "have to pay" if they are guilty of any crime. He spoke in an interview with broadcaster SBT, in the middle of his reelection campaign and days after the conflict between the two justices escalated at Brazil's top court.
According to CNN Brasil, Lula extended the rule to Chief Justice Edson Fachin:
"If Alexandre de Moraes is guilty, he has to pay. If [André] Mendonça is guilty, he has to pay, if [Edson] Fachin is guilty he has to pay."
The president called for a public investigation with no secrecy, with no "half information" or "half words". He said he spoke with Fachin on Wednesday (9) and asked for the case files to be opened. "It was the first thing I asked for, I don't like secretive investigations. If there has to be an investigation, it is better to make it public so that people can be formally accused," he said.
Asked about the effect on the election, Lula said an inquiry run by the court "should not impact the electoral process," but he criticized selective leaks. "Since there are selective leaks, I spoke with Minister Fachin yesterday and the secrecy of everything has to be lifted, to put everyone before Brazilian society, to see if the Supreme Court recovers its credibility and punishes whoever has to be punished," he said. According to Reuters, he again demanded an end to the secrecy of the Banco Master investigations and said Brazil should discuss fixed terms for Supreme Court justices.
How the crisis began
The confrontation started after a Federal Police report requested by Mendonça pointed to a supposed relationship between Moraes and former banker Daniel Vorcaro, who is jailed in the Banco Master case, according to news site g1. Moraes, in turn, cited indications that Mendonça acted with partiality as the justice in charge of the bank's cases. On Wednesday (9), Fachin removed Moraes from the Fake News inquiry and struck down decisions by Mendonça and Justice Flávio Dino on the removal and reinstatement of Federal Police director-general Andrei Rodrigues. "I think Fachin acted correctly yesterday. He will have to take this process, bring it to himself and put the house in order," Lula said.
The full court is scheduled to meet on Tuesday (15) to review the Federal Police report on Moraes and Vorcaro and to decide how the inquiry proceeds. The first round of the presidential election, in which Lula runs for reelection, is scheduled for early October.