It is false that the FBI requested the extradition and arrest of Alexandre de Moraes – 03/31/2023 – Politics

Videos published on YouTube lie when they claim that the director of the FBI demanded that the Attorney General of the Republic Augusto Aras authorize the arrest and extradition of Alexandre de Moraes, minister of the STF (Federal Supreme Court), to the United States. The minister would be accused of receiving bribes to release criminals.

The first disinformation content, verified by Projeto Comprova, uses speeches by federal deputy Sanderson (PL-RS) to say that the FBI’s demand occurred after he revealed that the FBI would be coming to Brazil for a task force with the Federal Police. In the fake video, Sanderson is presented as a federal police officer. Indeed, he is, but he is on leave while he serves his term in the Chamber. But the deputy’s statements were taken out of context. The video uses his participation in the BNDES CPI on August 28, 2019, and there is no mention of the FBI.

The second content makes the same allegations and states, this time, that former federal deputy and now district deputy Paula Belmonte (Cidadania-DF) personally went to the FBI headquarters in Washington, in the United States, accompanied by deputy Sanderson, to take evidence that Alexandre de Moraes would have received bribes from a cartel and sent the money abroad in tax havens. The speech by the parliamentarian used in the video was also taken out of context, as she was addressing a deponent at the BNDES CPI on May 8, 2019, without mentioning the FBI or the minister.

The PGR (Attorney General’s Office) informed Comprova in a note that “the body did not receive any letter or document with the aforementioned content” and further clarified that “the Federal Constitution (art. 5, item LI) prevents the extradition of a native Brazilian, except for the cases of loss of nationality, provided for in article 12, paragraph 4 of the CF”. That is, even if he had received an alleged letter from the FBI, it would not be so simple to extradite Alexandre de Moraes.

The FBI was contacted but did not respond as of the publication of this check. There is no news that Moraes is facing lawsuits in the United States, nor that he is wanted by the FBI, which does not list him among those wanted for various crimes, including those of “white collar”. Moraes also does not appear on Interpol’s Red List, contrary to what one of the videos suggests. In addition, US Senator Dan Sullivan recently denied to EstadãoVer that he asked the FBI to arrest Moraes, contrary to what one of the videos claims.

False, for Comprova, is content that was invented or that has been edited to change its original meaning and deliberately disseminated to spread a falsehood.

Reach

Comprova investigates suspicious content with greater reach on social networks. The first video has been viewed over 116,000 times on YouTube as of March 31, and the second, 107,000 times.

How do we check

First, the report searched for the main terms found in the two videos, such as “FBI”, “Alexandre de Moraes”, “PGR” and “kickback”. No news was found on the subject, but checks made by checking agencies that denied similar content or that associated Minister Alexandre de Moraes with the criminal faction Primeiro Comando da Capital, the PCC (UOL Confere, Estadão Verify, Reuters and Boatos.org ).

Next, the videos in which deputies Sanderson (PL-RS) and Paula Belmonte (Cidadania-DF) appear talking about corruption, used in both publications, were searched for. Finally, the two parliamentarians who appear in the videos were activated, in addition to the PGR and the FBI.

Prisoners released

The false content states that the FBI would be after Alexandre de Moraes because he received “millions in dollars” of “kickbacks to release criminals”. Besides being a lie that the FBI wanted to arrest the minister, he did not release criminals. Recently, between the end of February and March 30, he ordered the release of more than 350 people accused of acting in the coup attack on January 8, in Brasilia, but they are people who are still facing the process, that is, they are not considered criminals.

Previously, in October 2020, the then Minister of the STF Marco Aurélio Mello determined the release of André de Oliveira Macedo, known as André do Rap, an important head of the PCC. Such as Sheet reported at the time, for the minister, Macedo had been “in prison since the end of 2019 without a final conviction, exceeding the time limit provided for in Brazilian legislation”. Court colleague Luiz Fux suspended the decision, but the criminal is still on the run.

us senator

The first of the videos argues that US Senator Dan Sullivan was the one who asked the FBI to arrest Moraes, triggering an alleged task force with the PF, along with a request for the arrest and extradition of the Brazilian minister to the PGR. None of this is true. Recently, Estadão Verify showed that Sullivan’s alleged request had been invented.

The FBI did not respond whether it investigates the STF minister, but the PGR denied that it had received any official letter from the US office or director Christopher Wray, nor with the content mentioned in the videos. And even if he had received it, it would not have been that simple to extradite the minister. This is because the Federal Constitution of 1988 prevents the extradition of a native Brazilian, at least in the event of loss of nationality.

This is what article 5, item LI, of the CF says: “No Brazilian will be extradited, except for the naturalized one, in the case of a common crime, committed before naturalization, or of proven involvement in illicit trafficking in narcotics and similar drugs, in the form of law”. Article 12, paragraph 4, on the other hand, which deals with the loss of nationality, states that this happens if the Brazilian “has his naturalization cancelled, by court decision, due to activity harmful to the national interest” or if he “acquires another nationality”, the which is not the case of the minister.

decontextualized speeches

The two investigated videos use excerpts from speeches by two parliamentarians as if they were referring to the alleged investigations against Alexandre de Moraes, but the two speeches were made in 2019, and not currently, and are out of context. The first video shows the moment when federal deputy Sanderson (PL-RS) addresses the money changer Lúcio Funaro during his testimony before the CPI on Illicit Practices within the scope of the BNDES. The video is from August 25, 2019 and has nothing to do with the FBI or Moraes. At the time, Funaro was talking about JBS and businessmen Joesley and Wesley Batista.

In the second video, a speech by the then federal deputy Paula Belmonte (Cidadania-DF) also appears during the CPI of the BNDES, this time on May 8, 2019. She was addressing Rubens Benevides Férrer Neto, former risk manager at the Seguradora Brasileira de Crédito à Exportação, who was testifying on that occasion. Once again, there is no mention of the FBI or Minister Alexandre de Moraes.

Months later, in early 2020, Paula Belmonte told Jovem Pan that she received FBI agents in her office in Brasília in search of information about JBS related to the CPI of the BNDES. She took advantage of the occasion to deliver to the FBI documents on relations between the PT and Cuba, mainly on the Mais Médicos program, as published by Veja magazine. Once again, there was no mention of Alexandre de Moraes.

The two parliamentarians were approached by Comprova, but did not respond to requests for information about possible dialogues with the FBI regarding the STF minister. One of the investigated contents goes so far as to say that the two were together earlier this year at the FBI headquarters in Washington, but no evidence was found that this had happened.

Paula Belmonte is now a district deputy and her official agenda does not include trips abroad. The only commitment registered, in fact, is the inauguration ceremony in the Legislative Chamber of the Federal District on January 1 of this year.

Sanderson was re-elected federal deputy, but trips outside Brazil are also not included in his agenda. All the events registered on the congressman’s agenda took place in Brasília this year, and not even at the meetings of the Committee on Public Security and Combating Organized Crime of the Chamber of Deputies were there any representations by the deputy in relation to the FBI or Minister Alexandre de Moraes.

What the person responsible for the publication says

The report was unable to identify and contact the person responsible for the Sem Medo da Verdade BR (2) channel that published the videos.

What can we learn from this check

It is common for disinformers to use real videos to give the impression of credibility, but care must be taken not to believe any content that circulates on the networks. We should always be suspicious and reflect on whether publications make sense. The FBI, an agency of the US government, with which Brazil maintains good relations, ordering the extradition of a STF minister because he received millions of dollars from criminals does not seem to be true.

So, start by asking questions like: “If the STF minister had received money from criminals, wouldn’t that be news in Brazil?” and “What would America have to do with this story if it were true?” Another important step to make sure the content is true or not is to search for information on professional vehicle websites. Search Google for key words and phrases related to the publication and see if there are news stories about it.

why do we investigate

Comprova monitors suspicious content published on social networks and messaging apps about public policies and elections at the federal level and opens investigations for those publications that have achieved greater reach and engagement. You can also suggest checks via WhatsApp +55 11 97045-4984. Suggestions and questions related to questionable content can also be sent to Sheet via WhatsApp 11 99486-0293.

Other checks on the topic

Alexandre de Moraes has already been the focus of other checks published by Comprova, such as the video with false information about him and the false request for arrest in flagrante delicto against the minister after the elections.