Bolsonaro says US did not require vaccination to enter the country

President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) said this Wednesday (3) that, “at no time”, the United States required him to prove vaccination against Covid to enter the country.

“The treatment given to the head of state is different from that given to ordinary citizens. Everything is agreed in advance and [em] my trips to the United States, at no time was the vaccination card required. So, there is no fraud on my part in this regard”, he said, in an interview with Pânico, on Jovem Pan.

Bolsonaro was the subject of a search and seizure warrant at his home in Brasília, determined by Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF). By his order, the Federal Police are investigating whether former president’s assistants forged the insertion of false information in the Ministry of Health’s vaccination system to issue a card that would allow them to enter the US at the end of last year.

The website of the US embassy in Brazil informs that minors under 18 and people on diplomatic or government trips do not need to prove vaccination against Covid. A People’s Gazette contacted the press office at the US embassy in Brazil to find out if the former president had presented proof of vaccination during his stay in the US, but has yet to receive a response.

Michelle Bolsonaro is also the target of investigation

In the interview, Bolsonaro reaffirmed that he never took the vaccine, having read the “Pfizer leaflet”. When reporting on the PF operation, she almost cried when talking about the moment when police officers photographed Michelle Bolsonaro’s vaccination card, who was vaccinated in 2021 in the US.

“They did a sweep of the house, looking for documents, social media. They took my phone, asked for the password and I said that I never had a password on my phone. This is how the search and seizure was carried out. Main reason: ‘vaccine wallet fraud’. I even replied, I didn’t need it, in a very cordial environment, they didn’t ask me either, I said I hadn’t taken the vaccine, especially after I read what I call the Pfizer leaflet. When I read back there, [disse] I can’t take this thing here, that’s my problem, I decided not to take it. They found my wife Michelle’s vaccine card… yeah… they took the picture, the suspicion was fraud. She was vaccinated in 2021 in the United States, ”she said, her voice breaking.

Bolsonaro said that the former first lady felt sick after taking the vaccine and last year he felt sick again. Later he said that his daughter Laura also did not take it for the possibility of side effects such as palpitation, chest pain and shortness of breath. The PF investigation also investigates whether a false vaccination card was forged for her, currently 12 years old.

Bolsonaro also complained about other recent investigations opened against him, such as the case of luxury jewelry, received as a gift from Saudi Arabia. Upon returning to the operation this Wednesday, he said he had no doubt that it was to “sculpt”.

“So, this issue today, of receiving the Federal Police at your home, there’s no doubt… I call it an operation to skewer you. You could ask about the vaccine for me, card, I would answer without any problem. Now, it’s enormous pressure, 24 hours a day, all day, from before I took office until now, I don’t know when it will end. Why do I get emotional? Messed with me, no problem. When it goes to a wife, to children, then the business is … inhuman, inhuman, ”he said.

Bolsonaro then confirmed that his cell phone was seized and he has the PF, in addition to a pistol. Earlier, lawyer Fabio Wajgarten, who acts as an advisor, reported that Bolsonaro will only testify to the PF after having access to the investigation files. A request has already been made to Alexandre de Moraes, who has not yet withdrawn the secrecy of the investigation.

Operation Venire fulfilled 16 search and seizure warrants against Bolsonaro and aides. The investigation is part of the investigation of the “digital militias”, opened and conducted by Moraes. “The investigation indicates that the group’s objective would be to keep the identity element cohesive in relation to its ideological guidelines, in this case, to support the speech aimed at the attacks on vaccination against Covid-19”, informed the PF.

The investigation into the case began at the Comptroller General of the Union (CGU), the government’s oversight arm, when it was assessing whether to disclose Bolsonaro’s card. In February, the folder found that false data had been entered into the SUS system and postponed the release of the document.