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During a Federal Supreme Court (STF) hearing on Monday (9), Army Lieutenant Colonel Mauro Cid stated that former President Jair Bolsonaro believed that alleged electronic ballot fraud could be the necessary argument to mobilize military commanders to reverse the result of 2022 elections.
The expectation, according to the testimony, was to use the discovery as a justification to support the thesis that the claim had been framed/ Photo: Ton Molina
According to Cid, former joint-president of the former president and now whistleblower, Bolsonaro and General Walter Braga Netto, who composed the plate as vice, bet on the possibility of finding failures in the electronic voting system to justify military intervention in the country. The expectation, according to the testimony, was to use the discovery as a justification to support the thesis that the claim had been framed.
“What was always sought was to find fraud in the ballot box. With this fraud, it was believed it was possible to convince the military that the election was manipulated and thus trying to change the political scene,” said Cid, the first defendant of the so-called core 1 of the alleged coup attempt, heard by Minister Alexandre de Moraes, rapporteur of criminal action.
The military also reported that General Paulo Sérgio Nogueira, then Minister of Defense, was pressured by Bolsonaro to raise public doubts about the integrity of the electoral process. In 2022, Nogueira even sent an opinion to the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) stating that it was not possible to ensure that the electronic system was free of external influence. It is worth remembering that the TSE itself had created a transparency committee with the participation of the Armed Forces to oversee the electoral process.
The ICD audience paused around 4:45 pm and should continue until 20h.
Interrogation agenda
Mauro Cid’s hearing opens the series of interrogations conducted by Moraes this week, as part of the investigation into the plan to prevent the inauguration of President -elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. They are expected to testify until Friday (13) the following investigated:
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Alexandre Ramagem, former director of ABIN;
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Almir Garnier, former Navy Commander;
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Anderson Torres, former Minister of Justice;
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Augusto Heleno, former GSI minister;
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Jair Bolsonaro, former President of the Republic;
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Paulo Sérgio Nogueira, former Minister of Defense;
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Walter Braga Netto, reserve general and former minister.
The hearings are part of a criminal action that investigates the operation of an alleged core of articulation of coup measures. Mauro Cid’s denunciation is one of the main foundations of the investigation.
