Supreme Federal Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes called the investigation led by fellow Justice André Mendonça into messages attributed to banker Daniel Bueno Vorcaro, owner of the now-defunct Banco Master, "absolutely unconstitutional and illegal". In a filing sent to the court's presidency on Monday (14), Moraes spoke publicly for the first time since the start of the Operação Compliance Zero crisis and denied any wrongdoing or any favoritism toward Vorcaro and the bank. According to CNN Brasil, the document runs 44 pages and reached the court less than 12 hours before Tuesday's (15) session, in which Brazil's top court decides whether to open a formal inquiry against him.
Moraes argues that the probe was opened without a request from the Prosecutor General's Office (PGR), without a formal move by the Federal Police and without prior authorization from the full bench. "In the present case, in an absolutely unconstitutional and illegal manner, the reporting justice ordered, on his own initiative, investigative acts against a justice of the court," he wrote. CNN Brasil counted the word "illegal" 26 times in the filing.
On the substance, Moraes says the Federal Police report "found no indication of any criminal offense" on his part. He says the document rests on notes found in the notepad app of Vorcaro's phone, calls the supposed exchanges "fanciful dialogues" and "criminal lies", and attacks the report's methods. According to G1, he says evidence was not properly preserved and the conclusions came from excerpts of messages and interpretations rather than technical forensics.
"There is not a single message, absolutely none, authored by Justice Alexandre de Moraes that indicates any legal advice, favoritism or prior knowledge of any police operation."
The core of his defense is the operation's own outcome. Vorcaro was arrested at Guarulhos International Airport as he prepared to board a flight, carrying his real passport and his mobile phone. For Moraes, the success of the arrest and the seizure of the device shows the banker did not know there was a warrant against him, so it is "not logical, reasonable and plausible" to conclude there was favoritism or a leak. Moraes also denies having ruled on any case involving Banco Master or the law office of his wife, Viviane Barci, and describes the offensive against him as having a "political-electoral" motivation, an attempt at "revenge".
Mendonça's response
In a separate filing also sent Monday to Chief Justice Luiz Edson Fachin, Mendonça defended the steps he took. He explained the in-person meeting with Federal Police investigators in his office on August 24 as a precaution, because a police document mentioned the force's director general, Andrei Rodrigues, and Prosecutor General Paulo Gonet in a note Vorcaro sent to a still unidentified contact. Mendonça also said he ordered the police to deliver, within 72 hours, updated information on members of Vorcaro's supposed "influence and monitoring network". Fachin had set a deadline for Moraes, Mendonça, Gonet and Rodrigues to provide explanations before the session.
What the court decides on Tuesday
The extraordinary session starts at 10 am. The justices will review the Federal Police report and decide whether the messages justify opening an investigation into Moraes. The PGR has formally asked for the report to be annulled and shelved over procedural flaws, and, according to G1, one scenario under discussion behind the scenes is for Fachin to void the report and send the data to a new deputy prosecutor general for review. It remains open whether Moraes and Mendonça will vote; Justice Dias Toffoli is expected to stay out after declaring himself conflicted in related matters. Sources heard by G1 estimate a tight 4-to-3 split in favor of opening some form of inquiry. A request for review time, with a 90-day deadline under court rules, could delay the outcome.