The defense of the former president (PL) filed a request to try to prevent the ministers and to participate in the judgment of the coup plan complaint. The lawsuit was filed on Tuesday afternoon, 25 in the Supreme Federal Court (STF).
The decision is up to the minister, president of the Supreme Court, who met yesterday with criminalist Celso Vilardi, lawyer of the former president. Barroso was previously warned that the defense would file the impediment requests.
In May 2024, Minister Cristiano Zanin declared himself prevented to judge his former president’s appeal against the conviction that made him ineligible. Bolsonaro’s defense claims that he should not participate in the coup plan judgment because the cases are related.
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Bolsonaro was convicted by the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) for discrediting the electronic ballot box at a meeting with diplomats at the dawn palace. The TSE concluded that there was abuse of political power and misuse of the media. The coup plan denunciation mentions the meeting with the ambassadors and attacks on the electoral system as part of the coup strategy.
“The facts were imputed to Jair Messias Bolsonaro as violators of the electoral legislation and, for this reason, the minister himself declared himself the prevented to act on the feat when his arrival at the Supreme Court. These same facts are now imputed to Jair Messias Bolsonaro as violators of criminal legislation and, for this reason, one must also declare the impediment to acting in the deed, ”says an excerpt from the request.
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The former president’s advocates also recall that before taking the place in the Supreme Court, when he was a lawyer, Zanin subscribed to the PT a criminal news against Bolsonaro for attacks on institutions. One of the crimes attributed to the former president in the representation was precisely that of attempted violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, a typification in the complaint of the coup inquiry.
Regarding Flávio Dino, the lawyers mention a criminal complaint on charges of slander, injury and defamation, driven by the minister when he was governor of Maranhão.
The minister said yesterday that he has no reason to be prevented from participating in the vote. He also stated that the trial “will be in accordance with the rules of the game provided for by law and in the Rules of Procedure, with exemption and respect for broad defense.”
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“Regarding me, there is no discomfort, no discomfort, none of this kind,” the minister told reporters before a lecture at PUC of Sao Paulo.
“The Supreme is composed of 11 ministers. Everyone got there the same way. All ministers were chosen by presidents of the Republic and approved in the Senate. There are ministers appointed by five different presidents, ”he added.
Bolsonaro had already tried to rule out Minister Alexandre de Moraes from investigations into the coup plan, but the offensive were frustrated by Barroso.
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The former president’s lawyers also ask that the deadline to present the prior defense is suspended until the final decision on the impediments of the ministers.
All accused, 34 in all, have 15 days to send their prior defenses to the Supreme Court – set of arguments to try to convince court ministers to reject the accusations and thus not trigger criminal action. The deadline began to count from the notification of the lawyers, determined by Moraes on February 19.
