TRF files lawsuit against Eduardo Appio, Lava Jato judge – 07/25/2023 – Power

The Special Administrative Court of TRF-4 (Federal Regional Court of the 4th Region) instituted a disciplinary process against federal judge Eduardo Appio, head of the 13th Court of Curitiba, responsible for the remaining proceedings of Operation Lava Jato.

The initial deadline for completing the administrative process is 140 days.

The decision was taken in an extraordinary session held on Monday (24). The approval of the initiation of the disciplinary process was unanimous. And, by 15 votes to 2, it was also decided that he remains removed from office. The decision has not yet been published.

This Tuesday (25), the Sheet got in touch with the lawyer Alexandre Wunderlich, responsible for Appio’s defense at the TRF-4, but still had no response.

Appio took over the 13th Court of Curitiba in early February, but was removed by decision of the Special Administrative Court of TRF4 on May 22, in the midst of a disciplinary procedure.

The judge is suspected of having made a call to lawyer João Eduardo Barreto Malucelli on April 13, pretending to be someone else, and apparently trying to prove that he was talking to the son of federal judge Marcelo Malucelli, then rapporteur for Lava Jato in second instance.

João Eduardo is a partner of the senator and former judge Sergio Moro in a law firm and, at that time, Marcelo Malucelli and Appio had conflicting judicial decisions about the defendant Rodrigo Tacla Duran, who since 2017 has been saying that people close to Moro tried to extort him.

The indirect relationship between Moro and Marcelo Malucelli was contested and the TRF4 magistrate ended up leaving the Lava Jato rapporteur.

João Eduardo recorded the call, which ended with a question interpreted by the lawyer as a kind of threat: “And are you sure you haven’t been up to anything?”

A PF report, commissioned by the Internal Affairs of TRF4, points out that the audio “strongly supports the hypothesis” that it is Appio’s voice.

In addition, the TRF4 Information Technology Board reported that the judge’s computer IP consulted a process in which lawyer João Eduardo acts just minutes before the time of the call. Within the process, with a magistrate login, it is possible to see the lawyer’s cell phone number.

But Appio has denied making the call.