STF: Rosa votes to overturn the pardon for Daniel Silveira – 05/03/2023 – Power

The president of the STF (Federal Supreme Court), Rosa Weber, voted this Wednesday (3) for the unconstitutionality of the decree of former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) that granted pardon to former federal deputy Daniel Silveira (PTB-RJ).

The minister also considers that the decree does not interfere with Silveira’s ineligibility.

She is the rapporteur for the judgment of four lawsuits filed by Rede, PDT, Cidadania and PSOL contrary to the presidential decree that granted the benefit, individually, to the former deputy.

The trial will resume on Thursday (4), when the other justices will be able to vote. The second minister to present the vote will be André Mendonça, who was appointed to the Supreme by Bolsonaro.

The former president, according to Rosa, “edited an individual decree absolutely disconnected from the public interest”.

“The truth is that the desired end with the issuance of the pardon decree was to benefit a first-time political ally legitimately convicted criminally by this Federal Supreme Court”, said the minister.

“The head of the federal executive branch, in so doing, despite apparently having competence to do so, subverted the rule and violated constitutional principles, producing an act with inadmissible effects for the legal order.”

Rosa Weber’s vote was read during the entire plenary session of the Supreme Court this Wednesday.

“The granting of pardon to a political ally for the simple and simple bond of political and ideological affinity is not compatible with the guiding principles of public administration such as impersonality and administrative morality”, he said.

“Such a procedure, in reality, reveals an authoritarian and non-compliant facet of the Federal Constitution, as it makes the personal political interests of those involved prevail in opposition to the public interest that guides the state interest.”

Bolsonaro granted the benefit after the then deputy was sentenced in April last year to 8 years and 9 months in prison, in addition to paying a fine and loss of political rights.

The parties argued that the decree was issued with a misuse of purpose, which does not consider the public interest and was used only to benefit a political ally of the then president. PSOL also argued that the former president encouraged Silveira to commit crimes in order to later forgive him.

The trial began last Thursday (27th), when the ministers of the STF heard the arguments of the parties, interested third parties and also the Attorney General of the Republic, Augusto Aras.

When manifesting himself, Aras opined for the legality of the pardon. The PGR stated that the motivation for issuing pardons by the President of the Republic is political and not administrative, for this reason it cannot be said that there is a deviation in purpose.

He also compared the pardon with processes in which former US presidents Donald Trump and Bill Clinton granted pardons to people linked to them.

“Over there, there were cases in which pardons were granted to people close to the president, such as what happened to Donald Trump, who pardoned his campaign coordinator, and Bill Clinton, who, on the last day of the presidential term, forgave his brother, who had been convicted of involvement with drugs,” said the PGR.

Aras also pointed out that the pardon is provided for in the Constitution. “The contested act did not violate the material limits expressly influenced and set by the Constituent Assembly. It did not forgive the crime of torture, drug trafficking, terrorism and those defined as heinous”, he argued.

At the time he granted the pardon, Bolsonaro said in a statement broadcast on social media that freedom of expression is “an essential pillar of society” and that society is in “legitimate commotion” because of the conviction.

“The grace referred to in this decree is unconditional and will be granted regardless of the final and unappealable decision [da ação]”, Bolsonaro said.

On another occasion, the president also said that clemency is “a reasonable and necessary measure for the nation to move towards the objectives outlined in the Constitution”