Businessman remains silent during testimony to CPMI about the acts of January 8

Businessman Argino Bedin, who is being investigated as one of the alleged financiers of the events of January 8, in Brasília, remained silent during the testimony he was called to at the CPMI of Congress, this Tuesday morning (3). He obtained a habeas corpus from the Federal Supreme Court (STF) so as not to answer questions that could generate evidence against him.

Bedin’s testimony began almost two hours late after deputies and senators discussed with the president of the commission, deputy Arthur de Oliveira Maia (União Brasil-BA), to vote on new call requests and breaches of fiscal secrecy – including those of the former -President Jair Bolsonaro (PL).

Maia scheduled a leadership meeting for Wednesday (4) to discuss the commission’s latest work and Thursday’s session (5) as the last to take statements, with the hearing of sub-lieutenant Beroaldo José de Freitas Júnior, who worked in the Battalion of Shock Policing of the Military Police of the Federal District (PM-DF).

The meeting, however, was canceled later in the morning due to lack of agreement between parliamentarians and a new meeting will be held in the early afternoon to agree on a new route for the commission’s final report.

Argino Bedin was cited in reports from the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (Abin) for allegedly financing trucks and transporting protesters to Brasília on January 8. “I will exercise my right to remain silent,” he said.

The businessman even took the first 15 minutes he would have been entitled to to introduce his own defense.

At the end of last year, Bedin had his bank account blocked by Minister Alexandre de Moraes, from the STF, along with nine other people and 33 companies that had been investigating, until then, the financing of the acts that closed the highways after the second round of the presidential election. .

After the denial, senator Eliziane Gama (PSD-MA) listed the questions she would ask and data that supported the questions, such as the one that pointed out that Bedin and his family own 72 trucks from the city of Sorriso (MT) that were used in road blockages after the second round of elections last year and in Brasília.

“Of the 72 vehicles, 16 belonged to his family, five of which were his and another 11 related to other members of his family, including children and relatives”, stated the senator.

She also stated that Bedin is part of a class entity that carried out “anti-democratic demonstrations”, such as Aprosoja, according to the Abin report, explained the senator.

Eliziane Gama also presented Bedin’s tax data that indicate a donation of R$20,000 to a PL candidate in Mato Grosso, last year, and another donation of R$86,000 that was not declared to the Electoral Court.

Shortly afterwards, deputy Jandira Feghali (PCdoB-RJ) listed a series of Bedin’s relatives based on reports from Abin, whose family relationship was confirmed by him. However, the businessman avoided commenting on the claims that they had participated in the demonstrations. Deputy Rogério Correira (PT-MG) reinforced the statement against the businessman.

On the other hand, deputy Delegado Ramagem (PL-RJ), came to the businessman’s defense, stating that the attacks on the headquarters of the Three Powers were carried out by “500 to a thousand vandals who came in to break because there was an omission, they let the break happen” . Filipe Barros (PL-PR) also came to the businessman’s defense, saying that he cannot be treated “like a terrorist”.

Ramagem drew a parallel between the situation and the Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST), which, he says, is financed by businessmen and politicians — “including support from President Lula, who takes leaders on international tours” — and which never an attempt was made to discover who the financiers of the invasions were. The speech was a reference to the search that authorities have been carrying out on alleged businessmen who financed the events of January 8th.

“We have proven day after day that Mr. Flávio Dino arranged for this whole incident to happen,” said Ramagem, asking that the Minister of Justice and the former chief minister of the Institutional Security Office (GSI), Gonçalves Dias, be indicted.

Ramagem’s statement was refuted by Gervásio Maia (PSB-PB), who said that Dino “has no restrictions even in Serasa, he does not respond to a single process”.

“What democracy won, Lula’s relative democracy? The propinocracy that the PT is used to? That’s not democracy”, said Barros shortly afterwards, being countered by deputy Duarte Jr (PSB-MA) that “thanks to the Constitution of 88, democracy won, it was fulfilled and we are here”.

PT deputies Rogério Carvalho (PT-SE) and Fabiano Contarato (PT-ES) also discussed it later.

Senator Cleitinho (Republicanos-MG) criticized the businessman’s summons, stating that his bank account has been blocked since the end of last year, with the CPMI only referring to the acts of January 8, in which Bedin was not involved. “Hypocrites and Pharisees talking about campaign donations here as if they had never received donations,” he said.

At the end of the morning session, federal deputy Maurício Marcon (Podemos-RS) also came to Bedin’s defense and stated that the CPMI result has already been practically defined. According to him, the rapporteur’s report, after all, was written by minister Flávio Dino and that the commission “will end in pizza”.