Justice Alexandre de Moraes of Brazil's Supreme Federal Court (STF) relied on an internal Federal Police document that the force itself rates as having "no probative value" when he asked for his colleague André Mendonça to be investigated for abuse of authority, administrative improbity and crimes of responsibility. The finding comes from Folha de S.Paulo, in a report by José Marques published on Friday (4).

The report is not signed by any Federal Police delegate. It is a "scenario analysis" of suspicions of a "possible encroachment on the plenary's jurisdiction and on the prerogative of a member of the Public Prosecutor's Office". The text itself sets its own limits of use.

"The information contained in it is not meant to support a proceeding of any nature, to ground a formal complaint, to support a defense brief, or to be cited as a source in an external document."

Confidence levels

According to Folha, the Federal Police assigns a "low" or "moderate" confidence level to much of the material. In his decision, Moraes quotes the passages without that distinction. One of them supports the hypothesis that Mendonça was steering investigations against Senate President Davi Alcolumbre (União Brasil-AP).

"It is assessed that Davi Alcolumbre constitutes a probable strategic target, given his political strength, his favored position to remain president of the Federal Senate and the resulting control of that chamber's agenda, notably the processing of impeachment requests against Supreme Court justices."

The unsigned report also raises the hypothesis that Mendonça's moves "are part of a broader strategy by the rapporteur, with the intention of expanding his power in the Supreme Federal Court, to increase the chances that the worldview of the political group he belongs to will prevail". Right after, the text records its own confidence rating for that assessment.

"Confidence level: LOW. An entirely inferential judgment, about mental state and strategic intent, built from indicators that are mostly reported. Low confidence does not mean dismissal: it means the hypothesis remains open and under observation, and that any external use would be premature."

The G1 news portal had access to the same material and confirms the police caveat: the document is an intelligence report of restricted diffusion, with no decision-making character and no probative value. According to G1, in a ruling published on Thursday (3), Moraes said the Federal Police had identified that Mendonça steered investigations against Alcolumbre. The reports also point to uneven treatment of politicians by Mendonça in the Banco Master case, with different evidentiary standards applied to Senators Weverton Rocha and Ciro Nogueira.

The request sits with Fachin

Moraes addressed the request to Justice Edson Fachin, who is handling the crisis between the two justices at the court. Fachin has given Moraes, Mendonça, the Attorney General's Office (PGR) and the Federal Police five days to explain the standoff. The decision on investigating Mendonça now rests with him.