First Panel of the STF forms majority to make defendant Moraes’ former advisor

Three of the four ministers of the First Panel of the Federal Supreme Court () voted to receive the complaint presented by the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) against which he was an advisor at the Superior Electoral Court (). As a result, a criminal case will be opened and he will be made a defendant. He was accused of acting against the legitimacy of the electoral process and acting to undermine investigations into acts such as those of January 8, 2023. Tagliaferro is in Italy. The Brazilian government has already initiated extradition proceedings against him.

Voting began in the virtual plenary on Friday, the 7th, and should be officially closed next Friday, the 14th. Alexandre de Moraes, Flávio Dino and Cristiano Zanin have voted so far. Cármen Lúcia’s vote is missing.

The former advisor will be responsible for four crimes: revealing or facilitating the disclosure of a fact that the public servant is aware of due to his position and that must remain secret; coercion in the course of legal proceedings; attempt to abolish the Democratic Rule of Law; and trying to prevent or hinder an investigation against a criminal organization.

“The participation of the accused manifested itself in a way in which the criminal organization acted with the objective of carrying out a coup d’état, reinforcing the campaign to delegitimize the institutions through the leak of confidential information and the creation of an environment of institutional intimidation”, Moraes wrote in the vote.

After the criminal action has been initiated, the investigations will be in-depth, with the production of evidence and testimony from the accused, defense witnesses and prosecution witnesses. At the end of the investigations, the First Panel will carry out the final judgment, which may result in the conviction or acquittal of the defendant.

*With information from Estadão Conteúdo