The links revealed between ministers of the (Federal Supreme Court) and the former banker leave the (Attorney General’s Office) under pressure so that the facts involving the judges are investigated in the investigations of the .
This is what lawyers, professors and entities consulted by the Sheetwho, however, make different assessments of the body’s conduct so far — some criticize and see inertia, some defend and talk about prudence.
Documents obtained and revealed by Sheet on Tuesday (31) indicate that it is his wife, Viviane Barci, from companies owned by Vorcaro or linked to him. They also indicate that to go to the Tayayá resort.
The revelations are added to others: that of Viviane’s office with the bank, those between Moraes and the businessman and Toffoli’s company in a company whose partner, in the same Tayayá, had a fund linked to suspicions in the case.
The Attorney General of the Republic, , () in 2023 — outside the traditional triple list. There was the . He is close to ministers Moraes and , who make up the most strident wing behind the scenes in the court’s agenda.
As the website showed, Gonet participated with Moraes, Vorcaro and the general director of , Andrei Rodrigues, in a tasting of Macallan whiskey in , in , in 2024. Gilmar and other authorities were also invited to the event.
For Bruno Brandão, executive director of Transparency International Brazil, proximity to ministers would already impact the appearance of impartiality if the PGR were investigating the facts involving ministers. “In the face of inertia, this relationship impacts even more.”
The leader of the international organization that works to combat it states that, in a country with truly independent institutions, the link between ministers and Vorcaro would already be under investigation for much less than what has been revealed.
“Paulo Gonet still has the opportunity to show the country that he is not [ex-procurador-geral da República]but it’s not just because of his name in history. It is the reputation of the institution, the credibility of a State body and of Justice itself that is at stake”, he says.
Rodrigo de Grandis, professor of criminal law and criminal procedure at FGV Direito SP, says that opening an investigation requires evidence or evidence, even if superficial, that indicates the commission of a crime and that certain people have committed it.
“Of course, if we consider an investigation conducted by the Attorney General of the Republic, that is, against someone who has jurisdiction, this will require what we call a greater evidentiary standard: the opening of an investigation would require greater, more qualified evidence related to the proof of the crime, so that an investigation could be set up”, he points out.
Therefore, just like presidents and congressmen, ministers of the Supreme Court have jurisdiction as a prerogative of their role, and the court responsible for judging them is the STF itself, but the PF or PGR cannot simply open an investigation against a minister.
The law establishes that, when there is evidence of a crime committed by a magistrate, the authority must refer the case to the competent body so that the investigation can continue. In other words, without authorization from the Supreme Court, an investigation against a House magistrate will not get off the ground.
In February, pointing out signs of crimes that could have been committed by Toffoli. Following the communication, the president of the court, Edson Fachin, chose to open a case of suspicion. On the same day, .
Criminalist Thúlio Guilherme Nogueira, a doctoral student in criminal procedural law at USP, states that, at this moment, it is possible to say that the entire context of links with Vorcaro highlights the need for these links to be clarified and for this to be investigated.
But he disagrees that the PGR is being lenient. “[A Procuradoria]as a political agent, must act with prudence, even so that things do not happen as they happened with [Rodrigo] Janot [procurador-geral na época da ]which left the PGR weakened.”
Antônio José Teixeira Martins, professor of criminal law at UFRJ (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro) and Uerj (State University of Rio de Janeiro), says that the sequence of news and the magnitude of the case may give the impression that the PGR is not being ruthless.
But, according to him, there is no obvious flaw either. To date, the Prosecutor’s Office has not been silent, blocked investigations or acted in any contrary way.
“The PGR’s participation has been marked by care (….): neither a persecutory fate, nor an omission or an action contrary to the investigation”, he says. “What is expected of a person in the position of Attorney General of the Republic is that he be calm, but not be negligent.”
