Moro Case: parties target abuse of economic power – 02/14/2024 – Power

Although Lula’s PT and Jair Bolsonaro’s PL point to signs of corruption in senator Sergio Moro’s (União Brasil-PR) pre-campaign spending, it is the alleged abuse of economic power by the former Lava Jato judge that forms the central axis of the process filed by the two acronyms in the Electoral Court of Paraná.

This is linked to the nature of the process, which is an Aije (electoral judicial investigation action) proposed by both parties.

PT’s lawyer, Luiz Eduardo Peccinin, says that the action against Moro aims to point out evidence of abuse of economic power under the terms of article 30-A of the “Election Law” (law 9,504/1997) and article 22 of the “Law of Ineligibility” (complementary law 64/1990).

The investigation of possible electoral crimes (such as slush funds or electoral misappropriation) or common crimes (such as money laundering) would be the responsibility of the Public Ministry, which could propose a public criminal action.

“The competence lies with the Public Prosecutor’s Office. We can represent criminally by reporting to the MP [Ministério Público] or the TRE itself can now send the files to the MP for analysis. But, in these cases, the person who proposes the complaint is the MP, and the Federal Police is the one who carries out the investigation”, he explains.

In the action, the parties point out alleged abuse of economic power and, therefore, ask for Moro’s mandate to be revoked. But they also defend that signs of corruption be investigated.

In a note sent to the report, Moro states that the signs of corruption are “mere speculation by PT and PL lawyers” and “have already been refuted by the MPF, which did not recognize them in its opinion.”

Moro adds that there is no abuse of economic power, “as explained exhaustively in the process”. He also says that he calmly awaits the trial.

The signs of corruption mentioned by the acronyms in the action are mainly linked to the legal services contract made between União Brasil and the office of lawyer Luis Felipe Cunha (União Brasil), who has been friends with Moro for almost 20 years and became his first deputy in the Senate.

PT and PL find the contract suspicious, as Cunha’s office had not previously worked in the area of ​​electoral law. The value of the contract was also considered high — R$1 million for a period of four months, from April to July 2022.

The parties opposing Moro defend that there should be a more in-depth investigation into the destination of the money. For PT and PL, Moro may have used the resources for “hidden and advance self-financing” for his campaign or to pay personal expenses. He denies any wrongdoing.

For the PT lawyer, Moro “hired his friend as a supposed lawyer and triangulated these resources.” Peccinin gave the statement to the press shortly after the hearing in which Moro gave testimony to the case’s rapporteur, judge Luciano Falavinha, in December.

Judge Moro explained that the amount also covered payments to the office of lawyer Gustavo Guedes, who had not been hired directly by União Brasil due to resistance from the party’s president, Luciano Bivar.

Guedes, responsible today for Moro’s defense in the Electoral Court, confirms the version and says that Cunha subcontracted his office.

“There was information from the party that they would not like to hire me because I had signed against the PSL [hoje União Brasil] an action to disaffiliate Joice Hasselmann for just cause”, said Guedes, in January, in an interview with Sheet.

“At the time, I had information that this note had come from Bivar himself. Later, Bivar said in an interview that he didn’t speak. But, someone said it internally there. If someone used Bivar’s name because they don’t like me, I don’t know The fact is that this was said back there. I respect Bivar, I have nothing against him. But I understood the resistance as understandable”, said the lawyer.

According to him, the alternative found, and which would have received the support of the party itself, was the partnership with Cunha’s office, which intended to start working in the electoral area.

“I’m not going to point out amounts, but I received a significant part of this payment of R$250,000 per month,” said Guedes. “He provided services with me. It wasn’t just four opinions. There were dozens of documents that we produced, including things for the party and Moro’s defenses. And I think Felipe [Cunha] had other services as well”, he continued.

Throughout the hearing conducted by judge Luciano Falavinha in December, the contract was the topic of most of the questions asked by the judge to the senator.

Falavinha has not yet announced his vote on the case, but has already reported having completed the analysis of the process on January 30th. Now he awaits the complete formation of the regional court panel to put the matter on the trial agenda.

One of the seven judge seats has been vacant since the end of January. The expectation is that the seventh member will be inaugurated in the coming days, after President Lula nominates a name based on a triple list.

The action motivated by representation of the PL and PT parties claims that the former Lava Jato judge made excessive expenses during the pre-election campaign period linked to the 2022 election, which would have brought an imbalance to the dispute.

Moro joined Podemos at the end of 2021 with an eye on the presidential race. In March 2022, he left the party, announcing his affiliation with União Brasil and a candidacy for the Senate for São Paulo. In June, after the Electoral Court barred the change of electoral domicile to São Paulo, he announced that he would be a candidate for the Senate from Paraná.

Therefore, the opposition parties point out that pre-campaign spending, initially aimed at the dispute for the Palácio do Planalto, became “disproportionate” and “suppressed the chances of other competitors” for the Senate in Paraná.

Moro’s defense denies that he made excessive expenses and maintains that the expenses incurred between November 2021 and the beginning of June 2022 could not even be considered, precisely because the pre-candidate was seeking other positions.