Bolsonaro asks the STF to postpone testimony about messages to businessmen

Former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) asked the Federal Supreme Court (STF) this Wednesday (30) to postpone the testimony to the Federal Police (PF) about the alleged spread of fake news in messages he would have sent to businessmen. The former representative was scheduled to be heard by the PF this Thursday (31) in two different investigations: in the case of Saudi jewelry and in the case of businessmen who criticized the election of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) in a message group on WhatsApp. The former president is expected to testify only about Saudi jewelry.

Bolsonaro’s defense argued that he only had access to the files about the messages on Monday (28) and was unable to analyze more than 2,000 pages of the process in a timely manner for the testimony. According to the investigation of CNN Brazilthe request was accepted by the delegate responsible for the case.

“The lawyer, then, returned to São Paulo with the physical copies on Monday night, so that, as the hearing was scheduled for August 31 (Thursday), the defense will clearly not have enough time enough for the analysis of the voluminous records, which already exceed 2000 pages”, says the document sent to the office of Minister Alexandre de Moraes. With that, the defense asked the magistrate “to designate a new date for the hearing”, reported the newspaper The State of S. Paulo.

In addition to Bolsonaro, the PF will also simultaneously hear former first lady Michelle Bolsonaro; Lieutenant Colonel Mauro Cid; his father, Army reserve general Mauro César Lourena Cid; lawyers Fábio Wajngarten and Frederick Wassef and advisors Marcelo Câmara and Osmar Crivellati.

Business people group messaging

Last week, Moraes ordered the shelving of an investigation against six of the businessmen who were the subject of warrants in August 2022, due to talks about an alleged “coup”.

In the decision, the minister recognized that it is “clear the absence of just cause” to keep open the investigation against Afrânio Barreira Filho, José Isaac Peres, José Koury Junior, Ivan Wrobel, Marco Aurélio Raymundo and Luiz André Tissot. However, the minister granted the PF another 60 days for diligence to be carried out in relation to other businessmen: Luciano Hang and Meyer Joseph Nigri.