The general director of , Andrei Rodrigues, held a press conference this Wednesday morning (4) at the corporation’s headquarters in , but the Sheet was the only one of the country’s main media outlets not to be invited.
Andrei was questioned by his advisor about the reasons for the veto, but he did not want to comment. The , to whom the PF is subordinate, simply said that it would be up to the corporation to take a position.
The PF general director was later questioned personally by the Sheetbut refused to give explanations.
“You sent an email there, right? [com pedido de posicionamento]? I’m not going to comment,” said the general director of the PF at the end of the Consesp (National Council of Public Security Secretaries) meeting.
This type of meeting between authorities and journalists is common in Brasília, and most of the time the information is given “off the records” — in journalistic jargon, with the condition that the source is not identified. It is unusual, however, to exclude press organizations that normally provide daily journalistic coverage of the summit of the three Powers.
A Sheet normally participates in this type of press conference, as long as the topics to be covered are relevant and of public interest.
The PF’s main focus of recent action was the report on the coup plot at the end of the government (), in 2022,.
The report obtained the full audio of the more than two-hour interview given by Andrei and three other PF directors to invited journalists. The coup plot was the main topic he discussed at the meeting.
A Sheet since the release of the 884 pages of the police report, published dozens of reports, analyzes and opinion articles dealing with the various points brought up by the investigation, which included, , the defense of the accused, the behind the scenes and the political repercussion, in addition to other approaches —always based on principles such as pluralism, non-partisanship and critical journalism, which are pillars of .
At this Wednesday’s meeting, after the director general of the PF spoke for the first half hour, praising what he sees as the qualities of the police and its management, he was questioned by journalists about the gaps still present in the investigation.
Among them is the fact that the PF did not listen to members of the Army High Command.
Another point that still lacks robust proof is the report’s assertion that Bolsonaro knew how to prevent the PT member from taking office.
In his responses, Andrei stated that the decision not to listen to all members of the Army High Command was technical, without political interference.
He also said that, although there was an assassination plan, which was one of the main topics of the final report, the crimes being investigated refer to the coup plot.
“Has anyone been indicted for murder? For attempted [assassinato]? Who’s talking about murder there? What we are talking about is a coup plot, this is the crime that is being investigated”, he said.
“The criminal organization was not supposed to commit murders, no one was indicted for murder. It was supposed to commit the other two crimes, the violent abolition of the democratic rule of law and the coup d’état,” he added.
The head of the PF also stated that, if the Attorney General’s Office or the STF understand that there are gaps or something else to investigate, this will be done.
Andrei also rebutted the president of , (-AL), who was from the House plenary.
Last week, (Novo-RS) and Cabo Gilberto Silva (PL-PB) stated on social media that they were indicted for having criticized, in plenary, delegate Fábio Shor, responsible for the investigation into the attempted coup.
“We have to separate what is freedom of expression from what is the prerogative that the parliamentarian has in relation to his speech, his votes, his opinions, from the commission of a crime. There is no absolute right”, said the head of the PF.
In June, the Sheet showed that in the government.
In some situations, the head of the corporation anticipates legal assessments on work that has not yet been completed, saying he is already certain that there is evidence or pointing out crimes in investigations that are still ongoing.
He repeated the practice in November, in demonstrations the morning after the attack. Andrei and Moraes anticipated conclusions that link the episode to investigations involving Bolsonaro and his allies.
Both said that the attack was not an isolated event and indicated relationships with other cases reported by Moraes about attacks on institutions. They also criticized the possibility of amnesty for .
Andrei was asked this Wednesday about the episode. That time, he said he could not comment because the investigation is ongoing.
BOLSONARO
On Wednesday night, after the publication of the report by SheetBolsonaro ignored the repeated attacks made against journalists and the Sheet in his government and published on social media that he was an “uncompromising defender of press freedom”.
“Even if I disagree with the editorial line of Sheet and criticizing some of its reports, I have never prevented any vehicle from carrying out its work”, he stated.
In addition to swearing and telling journalists to shut up, Bolsonaro went so far as to say in 2021 that “the right thing” for outlets like SheetO Globo, O Estado de S. Paulo and the website O Antagonista.
This Wednesday, the former president said he saw in Brazil today “a systematic attack on all the pillars of democracy: freedom of expression, freedom of the press, parliamentary immunity, popular sovereignty.”
“Today, in the government of ‘love’ and ‘democracy’, the Sheet is prohibited from participating in press conferences, people are arrested for their opinions, deputies are indicted for their speeches, and press scrutiny is avoided at all costs. Meanwhile, the supposed defenders of the institutions pretend not to see what is happening,” he wrote.