Justice André Mendonça of Brazil's Supreme Federal Court (STF) said in a formal filing released on Sunday, September 13, that sharing with his fellow justices the full contents extracted from former banker Daniel Vorcaro's phone would only serve to "disrupt the trial" and would "put at risk the entire continuation and success of the investigations". The filing comes two days before a full-court session on Tuesday, September 15, when the justices are to review a Federal Police report on messages exchanged between Vorcaro and Justice Alexandre de Moraes.
"The insertion of additional elements, which are not currently part of the case record, including the opening of all the information contained on Daniel Vorcaro's phone, would only contribute to disrupting the trial and would also put at risk the entire continuation and success of the investigations, giving rise to questions of every kind, to divert the case set for judgment from its natural course."
That is how Mendonça, as quoted by G1, answered colleagues demanding access to the material before the session. According to InfoMoney, the justice believes broad disclosure now could compromise ongoing inquiries into fraud attributed to Banco Master, a financial group at the center of a sprawling case, and shift the debate away from the point he sees as central, the validity and the content of the police report on Moraes.
Pressure from the bench
In recent days, Justices Cristiano Zanin, Gilmar Mendes and Moraes himself have asked the STF presidency for full access to a mirror of the iPhone, which the Federal Police seized in 2025 during investigations tied to Banco Master, as Folha de S.Paulo reported. Zanin and Gilmar argued that justices need the full context to decide. For Moraes, "it is not up to the rapporteur to choose which documents are accessible to the bench for its judgment".
Mendonça pushed back. "I reiterate that all the material to be used in next Tuesday's judgment is available, in full, to every justice of this court. For that purpose, this justice has exactly the same set of information elements made available to the other peers who will take part in the session," he wrote. Citing Chief Justice Luiz Edson Fachin, he closed by saying that "the gravity of the facts does not allow shortcuts", but it also does not tolerate "subterfuges or detours, toward interests other than those of justice".
Federal Police reply and a request to officers
The standoff accelerated over the weekend. On Saturday, September 12, Fachin gave the Federal Police 24 hours to explain the status of the device and the integrity of the chain of custody. On Sunday morning, the force replied that the iPhone and the original extraction remain safely stored at the institution and that it has "full technical capacity" to send identical copies to any chamber that requests one. According to the police, the file delivered to Mendonça's office in March was a copy, sent at the rapporteur's formal request. Mendonça has previously said he kept the files sealed and encrypted as a security counterproof and never handled them.
In the same filing, according to G1, Mendonça asked Fachin to order four Federal Police officers to provide information within 24 hours on how reports and media files reached his office in March. He wants them to explain the circumstances of the delivery and to say whether they faced any "constraints" during the investigations.
On Tuesday, the full court decides whether there are grounds to open an investigation against Moraes. According to G1, the justice's allies plan to raise preliminary motions and procedural nullities, citing alleged irregularities in the drafting and routing of the report and the lack of prior access to the full phone contents. The Attorney General's Office (PGR) has already recommended shelving the report over procedural flaws.