The first class of the (Supreme Federal Court) denied on Tuesday (25) the central core of the coup plot of sending to the Supreme Plenary the judgment of the complaint against the former president () and seven others.
The decision was made during the judgment of the receipt of the complaint against the accused. The collegiate currently analyzes preliminary issues raised by the defenses.
The refusal took place by majority, four votes to one. Only the minister was against judging the case in the first class – he should, the case should be taken to the plenary.
The Minister-Rapporteur argued that the request to send the case to the plenary contradicts the Supreme Regulation.
At the end of 2023, the Supreme Court decided that criminal actions should be judged by the classes – a solution to relieving the plenary against more than 1,500 ongoing criminal actions related to the January 8 attacks.
Moraes also argued that presidents of the acting republic must be tried by the plenary of the Supreme, as provided by the Rules of Procedure, but it would not be valid for former presidents.
“Former President of the Republic cannot be removed from a position that no longer holds. Consequently, the reasons for the Rules of Procedure no longer apply to the former president. Given these allegations, both preliminaries,” he says.
Fux was the only one to disagree with other ministers about making the trial in the first class. For him, the deliberation would fit the plenary of the Supreme. The minister had already voted in 2023 against sending criminal actions to the classes.
“Worse than the judge who does not know the incoherent judge. I ask the venue to maintain my position, because it is not that peaceful,” Fux said in reference to his vote two years ago.
The first class of the Supreme is first addressed in the procedural matters raised by the defendants of the accused. The rapporteur’s vote on the merits of the accusations should be presented only after the preliminary discussion.
There were five questions presented by the lawyers. The first preliminary was on requests for impediment, suspicion and absence of impartiality of Moraes. The negative was unanimous.
Minister Luiz Fux stated that this issue is dealt with by the presidency. He said it was easy to create any impediment to ward off a magistrate. “Just quote some document. There is no reason to remove on behalf of a possible distrust. The minister behaved from the outset how it is to owe any judge in the world,” he said.
Zanin said he understood that the issue has already been analyzed, with the presentation of information. “I do not identify any interest in Moraes,” he said.
Moraes also countered an argument raised especially by the defense of Braga Netto.
Lawyer José Luis Oliveira Lima stated, in the podium and defense sent to the Court, that the evidence is presented in a large volume, without a pattern and in a disorganized way, and with sometimes unobdent materials, which would be called document Dump, reversing the burden of proof and leaving the lawyers “drowned” in the “search for a needle in the haystack”.
“We cannot confuse the complexity and size of the PF investigation with document Dump. There is no PGR strategy to jump the defense with a document truck,” said Moraes.
According to the rapporteur, the same documents analyzed by the defense were also by the accusation and the magistrates.
“We had access to exactly the same probative material. And that will lead to the rejection or upheaval of the complaint,” he said.
“The PGR lasted its complaints in the evidence indicated by the PF. She did not go to a lot of proof to confuse the defense. From the analysis of the investigations, the same summary of evidence that was for the PGR was for the defenses,” Moraes said.
Ministers should still deal with requests for nullity from the award-winning collaboration of Lieutenant Colonel Mauro Cid, one of the main points raised by the defenses of Jair Bolsonaro and Braga Netto.
In the current phase of the trial, the Supreme Court analyzes only whether the prosecution has evidence of authorship and materiality – or that is, if there is a sufficient minimum for the accused to respond to a process.
The tendency is for the first class of the Supreme to receive the complaint unanimously. If the scenario is confirmed, the accused are responding to a criminal action, and the process will begin to be instructed by Moraes.
In the next phase, defendants will be able to collect evidence and relate witnesses to be heard in the STF. It is at this moment that the suspects must question the merits of the accusations made by PGR.
The first class of the Supreme Court is composed by ministers Alexandre de Moraes, Cármen Lúcia, and Luiz Fux.
The trial began at 9:30 am on Tuesday, reading the Moraes report. Attorney General Paulo Gonet spoke for 30 minutes in favor of receiving the complaint against the accused, and the defenses presented their arguments for two hours.
PGR divided the coup plot complaint into five groups. The central core, of which Bolsonaro is part, is the first to be tried by the Supreme Court.
In addition to the former president of this slice of the complaint Alexandre Ramagem (Federal Deputy and former Chief of Abin), Almir Garnier (former Navy Commander), Anderson Torres (former Minister of Justice), Augusto Heleno (former GSI minister), Mauro Cid (former Bolsonaro orders), Paulo Sérgio Nogueira (former Minister of Defense) and Walter Braga Netto) (Former Minister of the Civil House and Defense).
They are accused of crimes of armed criminal organization, attempted violent abolition of the Democratic Rule of Law, coup, damage qualified by violence and serious threat against public assets and deterioration of listed heritage.
Added, the maximum penalties reach over 40 years in prison.
