Mendonça's decision turns Moraes into a central figure in the elections

The decision by Justice André Mendonça of the Supreme Federal Court to send the Attorney General's Office a Federal Police report containing cell phone messages exchanged between his colleague Alexandre de Moraes and businessman Daniel Vorcaro, owner of Master bank, places Moraes at the center of the elections. Vorcaro is imprisoned for running the largest financial fraud scheme in the country's history. The messages were disclosed by reporters Felipe de Paula, Fausto Macedo and Aguirre Talento, from the newspaper Estado de S. Paulo, making evident the depth of the crisis at the STF. Mendonça's move, who is his main rival within the court, transforms the internal dispute between the two justices into one of the most sensitive topics in the political electoral landscape. The report is now in the hands of Attorney General Paulo Gonet, and it is exclusively up to him to decide whether there is sufficient evidence to open an investigation against Moraes. If Gonet agrees, the possibility opens of a future removal of Moraes, either by decision of the other justices of the STF or by an impeachment process in the Senate. If, on the other hand, Gonet rejects Mendonça's request, this may amplify the discourse of dozens of Senate candidates across the country that the STF is a "house of untouchables."