Toffoli wants to change classes at the STF and decide instead of Lewandowski

Justice Dias Toffoli asked this Thursday (27) the President of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), Rosa Weber, to migrate from the First to the Second Panel of the Court, thus occupying the seat left by retired Justice Ricardo Lewandowski.

With the change, Toffoli will be able to participate in sensitive decisions that still remain from what is left of Operation Lava Jato, to a large extent already dismantled by the Court itself.

The change is of close interest to politicians, businessmen and operators prosecuted within the scope of Operation Lava Jato. This is because Lewandowski was the rapporteur of an action in which several investigated in the operation managed to suspend or annul their investigations and criminal actions. The action was opened by the defense of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in 2021 and questions the integrity of Odebrecht systems that recorded bribe payments and donations to politicians.

Since then, Lewandowski suspended not only actions against Lula, but also against Vice President Geraldo Alckmin (PSB), Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes (PSD), former Senator Edison Lobão, for example. Other investigated have similar requests pending. This week, Rosa Weber delegated to Edson Fachin, Lava Jato’s original rapporteur, the attribution of deciding on these requests. If Toffoli is authorized to migrate, he will be able to judge appeals against Fachin’s decisions in the Second Panel.

Currently, in addition to Fachin, Gilmar Mendes, Kassio Nunes Marques and André Mendonça are part of the collegiate.

In addition to the action with requests for annulment, Toffoli will be able to judge a request for investigation against the former judge and now senator Sergio Moro (União-PR) and against the former prosecutor and now federal deputy Deltan Dallagnol (Podemos-PR); both are accused of extortion by lawyer Rodrigo Tacla Duran, accused of laundering money for Odebrecht.

Toffoli’s transfer only depends on a formal act by Rosa Weber. It is only up to her to consult Minister Cármen Lúcia, who would have preference, as she has been in the STF longer. If she refuses, Toffoli takes over the chair left by Lewandowski.

The minister has already integrated the Second Panel in the past, when he used to vote with Gilmar Mendes and Lewandowski himself for the suspension or annulment of several Lava Jato processes.