The president of , (-AP), came out in defense of the leader of the government (PT) in the House, senator (-BA), under suspicion of having received payments linked to , from .
“My support, my full solidarity with a fellow senator of the Republic. […] I am convinced that, during the process, Senator Jaques Wagner’s truths will come to light and they will be proven. One day they will be judged, it is on that day that the person can be convicted or innocent”, he said this Thursday (18).
Alcolumbre stated that all people ultimately face justice, but polarization means that politicians are, on the contrary, considered guilty beforehand.
In a statement to the press, the president of the Senate also spoke about his own case, as he did too.
The president of the Senate defended his colleague despite the relationship between them, when Lula nominated Jorge Messias for a vacancy on the (Supreme Federal Court), contradicting Alcolumbre. The two senators didn’t speak for weeks and are currently having sporadic conversations in the plenary.
This Thursday, after the operation against Jaques Wagner, Alcolumbre canceled a session of Congress that was going to deliberate on a series of vetoes, stating that there was no agreement between party leaders for the vote and that the quorum was low — this week.
Behind the scenes, the president of the Senate wanted to prevent the session from becoming a stage for the accusation and defense of the PT senator.
“No one in this country can be convicted before the final judgment. And everyone in this country can be investigated. This is normal in the democratic rule of law, but everyone must also have the presumption of innocence”, he stated.
“We only have one problem: everyone is guilty until proven guilty. […] It is very sad for democracy and national politics. Everyone is guilty and condemned before being judged,” he added.
Alcolumbre said he respects the role of institutions, mentioning the Federal Police, the Federal Public Ministry and the Courts, “but we need to understand that this mantra that everyone is guilty until proven innocent is wrong.”
The president of the Senate said that Jaques is a colleague, respected by everyone, whose political trajectory is admired and who had the legitimacy of the popular vote.
On Tuesday (16), Alcolumbre, who spoke about Master, made a harsh statement in the Senate plenary, responding to suspicions that he had received funds from Vorcaro. The senator said he will take his defense to the ultimate conclusion and will identify who invented this fact.
On the occasion, Jaques Wagner, as well as other government and opposition senators, demonstrated solidarity with Alcolumbre through speeches in the plenary. The PT senator said he was mentioned in a report by Veja magazine, as was Alcolumbre, with .
“We are between the absurd and the super-absurd. The absurd is a statement that no one knows what is inside it, except those who questioned Mr. Daniel Vorcaro and who lightly, illegally, leak the matter, as they leaked during the Lava Jato era. We don’t know if it is written there, I don’t know if he said that, if he didn’t say it, about me or Your Excellency [Alcolumbre]. In Your Excellency’s case, it’s much worse, because I’m just a senator, Your Excellency is president of the National Congress”, said the PT member.
When speaking to journalists this Thursday, Alcolumbre also criticized the polarization, saying that “it is very comfortable” for PT congressmen to celebrate operations against PT congressmen and vice versa.
“I don’t celebrate anything against anyone’s story before the final judgment. […] Many authorities have already been victims of this public execration and, over time, most of them, during the investigations, managed to prove their innocence”, he declared.
“The polarization in Brazil is bringing us this dilemma, because it is no longer love that is prevailing, it is hate”, he added.
Alcolumbre also stated that public figures suffer operations against them and that lawyers are unable to access investigations.
When speaking to the press, Alcolumbre was surrounded by opposition parliamentarians, including from PL, and also the government leader in Congress, (PT-AP). The PT member, in turn, said that the operation against Jaques Wagner demonstrates that investigators have autonomy and freedom in the Lula government.
