The Attorney General of Brazil, Paulo Gonet, defended the annulment of the Federal Police report that points to Minister Alexandre de Moraes as the recipient of messages from former banker Daniel Vorcaro. The opinion was sent to the National Council of Justice, where the case is pending.
In the document, Gonet emphasized that it is not for a judge to accuse and "even less" to carry out pre-procedural investigations. The PGR also stated that a magistrate cannot use the police as "longa manus" – from Latin, extended hand – for activities that were not conferred upon him.
The head of the Federal Public Ministry highlighted that previous decisions of the Supreme Court "leave no doubt" that when a judge assumes functions that are not his own, he ends up generating nullities that contaminate the evidence. Gonet also noted that the minister "does not even hold the competence to direct police actions against targets he decides to aim at."
Gonet recommended that Justice Minister Francisco Mendonça of the STJ should not "admit nor order" that a colleague from the Court be "scrutinized," asking that the case not proceed. The opinion still leaves an unfinished sentence about who investigates in the pre-procedural phase.
