One day after leaving the leadership of the government in the Senate, senator Jaques Wagner (PT-BA) criticized the conduct of the Federal Police operation that placed him at the center of investigations into Banco Master. In an interview with Folha de S.Paulothe PT member stated that he had complained directly to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) about the publication of photographs taken during the search and seizure in his functional apartment, in Brasília.
According to Wagner, it contradicted the determination of Minister André Mendonça, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), who had authorized the execution of the warrants discreetly due to the confidentiality of the investigation.
“Why that pile of money on the bed with the PF shield? This process was common in Lava Jato”, he stated. In the senator’s assessment, there was an attempt to turn the investigation into a spectacle and it would be up to the Federal Police management to investigate the episode.
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Wagner said he took his dissatisfaction to President Lula. According to him, he told the Chief Executive that he was not looking for political protection, but a procedural correction. He also stated that the release of the images contributed to creating a narrative that associates his name with the scandal involving Banco Master.
The interview was given one day after the . Wagner stated that he resisted the idea of leaving office because he understood that it could be interpreted as an admission of guilt. The decision changed after a personal conversation with Lula.
According to the PT member, the president considered that he would need to concentrate efforts on his own defense and questioned whether it would be possible to simultaneously carry out this work and the government’s political articulation in the Senate. Wagner said that, given this argument, he chose to step away from the role.
When commenting on the investigations, the senator once again denied any involvement in irregularities linked to Banco Master. He stated that he met businessman Augusto Lima during the privatization process of the Cesta do Povo network, in Bahia, and classified the relationship between public agents and businesspeople as natural.
“I don’t know of a mayor or governor who doesn’t talk to businesspeople,” he declared.
Wagner also denied that travel on private aircraft or tickets to events constitute favoritism. He said he had already accepted rides from businesspeople, but rejected the version that he had received aircraft at his disposal.
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Another point discussed in the interview was the contract signed between Banco Master and a company in which his daughter-in-law is a partner. The Federal Police cites a payment of R$3.5 million as one of the elements of the investigation. Wagner stated that the amount disclosed only corresponds to the contractual termination and said that the total payments were higher, all formalized and registered.
According to him, the PF tries to build the thesis that the resources would have been allocated, in practice, to the senator. “Not a penny dropped for me,” he said.
The PT member also commented on the suspicion that he had negotiated an apartment with Augusto Lima. He said he intended to buy the property as a gift to his daughter, but that the transaction was never completed. According to Wagner, there was no transfer of ownership or any patrimonial benefit.
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At the end of the interview, the senator stated that he was calm about the progress of the investigations and said he believed that the Federal Police would not be able to prove any exchange of favors between him and businessmen investigated in the Master case.
