Former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) again pronounced on Friday (18) about the USB stick found in the bathroom of his residence in Brasilia during the Federal Police operation. In a new interview with journalists, Bolsonaro suggested that the device may have been “planted” at the scene and implied that the PF’s conduct was irregular.
“Never in my life I moved by any US”, said the former president, reporting that an agent would have gone to the bathroom with his finger bleeding and left with the object in hand.
The speech represents a rhetorical climbing against the statement given earlier, when he would question former first lady Michelle Bolsonaro about the possibility of the USBrover being hers.
Information on the finding of the device is in the Federal Supreme Court (STF), which also imposed Bolsonaro precautionary measures such as use of electronic anklet, nightlife and prohibition of communication with investigators and diplomats.
The PF investigates whether the device contained files relevant to the investigation into the attempted coup d’état after the 2022 elections. The existence of the USB stick has raised suspicions of attempted concealment or destruction of evidence, which could configure obstruction of justice-one of the crimes that underpin the precautionary measures imposed on the former president.
In addition to obstruction, Bolsonaro is investigated for coercion in the course of the process and attack on national sovereignty, by alleged articulation with the government of Donald Trump to interfere with the progress of the trial of criminal action in the STF.
