TSE fines lawyer who asked for annulment of Bolsonaro’s trial

Minister Benedito Gonçalves, of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), fined lawyer Anildo Fábio de Araújo in R$ 13 thousand for “litigation in bad faith” when asking for the annulment of the judgment that condemned former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) to ineligibility last week.

According to the magistrate, Araújo alleged in the case file “suspicion, impediment and even lack of impartiality” of most ministers who participated in the trial”. Gonçalves responded by saying that the lawyer wanted to use the process as an “improper stage” to defend the acts of January 8, and that the petition does not offer any effective contribution to the case and has no legal purpose.

“The expressions used in the petition, the immense range of disconnected matters dealt with and the defense of the anti-democratic acts of 01/08/2023 hint at the applicant’s real objective: that, with the attachment of this manifestation to highly relevant records, the ‘ protest’ gained an inappropriate stage. The fact is aggravated by identifying, in the text, insidious comments that aim to discredit, without foundation, the performance of Ministers in the judgment ”, he wrote.

Araújo said that the fine imposed by the TSE is “null and violates the internal regulations” of the court. “Those who want and are looking for spotlights are the TSE Ministers themselves: without impartiality, violating rules and norms of Impediment and Suspicion, even by intimate forum. Due to non-compliance with these norms, justice in Brazil is among the worst in the world”, he added.

The TSE gave the lawyer a period of 30 days to pay the fine, and he was warned of the possibility of a new punishment in case of recidivism.