Government authorities attribute the financing against the minister, of the (Supreme Federal Court), to the approval by the Chamber of Deputies of the bill that reduced the sentences of those involved in the coup plot, including the former president (PL).
The assessment is rejected by President Lula’s (PT) aides, who see the US decision as a result of the PT member’s rapprochement with Trump and the conversations the leaders have held since September. They at the beginning of the month.
In the conversation between Lula and Trump, the Brazilian would have made clear the importance of removing sanctions, according to people familiar with the conversation.
According to a Trump administration official, keeping Moraes on the Magnistky Act list has become inconsistent with U.S. foreign policy goals.
He said that the vote to reduce sentences in the case of the coup plot was a right step towards improving what he considers a lawfare scenario (political use of the Justice system) in Brazil.
The vote in the Chamber had already been praised by the number two at the US State Department, Christopher Landau.
In a message posted on social media shortly after approval, he said that the action in the Chamber was a first step towards improving relations between Brazil and the USA.
In the opinion of assistants at Palácio do Planalto, the two things are unrelated and the withdrawal was considered a victory for the Brazilian government. At the same time, the US retreat should not be seen as an indication that interference between the two countries has ended.
Moraes had been punished by the Trump administration on July 30. At the time, the Republican Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, said that there were “serious human rights abuses” by the STF minister.
This Friday, in addition to Moraes, the American government also removed his wife, Viviane Barci, and the company, which belongs to the magistrate’s family, from the sanctioned list.
The Magnitsky Act addresses serious human rights violations, including dictators, and the decision to use it for a Brazilian authority was unprecedented. The US applied the same sanction to members of Venezuela’s highest courts.
