The president of the (Supreme Federal Court), stated this Tuesday (31) that he is talking to the minister about the possibility of closing the fake news investigation, opened more than seven years ago.
The investigation has been the target of criticism since it was initiated, in March 2019, by the then president of the court, minister Dias Toffoli. At the time, attacks on the Supreme Court began to intensify. The rapporteur was assigned to Moraes, without going through the internal lottery system.
“The fake news investigation is a subject that worries me,” said Fachin, in an interview with journalists after presenting an overview of his six months in charge of the Supreme Court.
He preferred not to answer how Moraes has been receptive to the subject. “The developments will come.”
The minister recalled that, as rapporteur of the action that concluded the constitutionality of the investigation, in 2020, he considered that the investigation fulfilled an important function, but since then he observed that “every medicine, depending on the dosage, can turn into poison”.
“The question is whether the time has come to think about ending this type of activity,” said Fachin. “The dialogue with Minister Alexandre has been very good. I am confident in this path and I hope it is the possible path.”
Asked whether he himself, as president of the STF, could order the end of the investigation, he replied that he “prefers the other way”. Fachin also said that he is also talking to all the other members of the court.
“The priority dialogue is with Minister Alexandre, but let’s face it, this is a topic that interests the court as a whole, so it is more than legitimate to talk to everyone else to find out the perceptions and paths through which to think about closing this investigation.”
According to Fachin, the fake news inquiry “fulfilled an important function in safeguarding the prerogatives of Supreme Court ministers, which are fundamental for defending the rule of law and democracy.”
The president of the court also said that it is “fundamental to recognize the importance that the investigation had and may still have, as well as the role that has been played by minister Alexandre de Moraes” in reporting the case.
The inquiry targeted former president Jair Bolsonaro’s main allies, who is currently serving a sentence for an attempted coup d’état under house arrest. In August 2024, the then president of the STF Luís Roberto Barroso said that. He retired last year.
