Glenn v. Brazilian prosecutors

A federal prosecutor presented charges of criminal association and phone tapping against American journalist Gleen Greenwald for his role in the so-called “Car Wash leaks,” a series of reports of private messages exchanged by Operation Car Wash investigators and former Federal Judge Sergio Moro. The leaks showed that Mr. Moro—who currently serves as Justice Minister—guided prosecutors throughout the investigation, sparking criticism that he failed to act as a neutral umpire, as judges should.

Last year, Mr. Greenwald’s The Intercept Brasil began publishing the leaked private messages, raising suspicions that Mr. Moro had tipped the scales in favor of prosecutors against many defendants—including former President Lula. Federal Police marshals say the messages were obtained by a gang that operated a credit card fraud operation—which ended up hacking the cell phones of up to 1,000 A-list authorities—but never investigated Mr. Greenwald.

The accusation. In a 95-page document, the prosecutor says Mr. Greenwald “directly helped, incentivized, and guided” the hackers—and that the journalist obtained “financial gain” from it. U.S. Senator and potential Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders said President Jair Bolsonaro is threatening Mr. Greenwald “for the ‘crime’ of doing journalism.”

He also called on Brazil to “end its authoritarian attack on press freedom.” Activist Edward Snowden, House Speaker Rodrigo Maia, and other Brazilian politicians also condemned the case. 

Background reading:

• Greenwald harassment a worrying sign for press freedoms in Brazil
• Brazil’s prosecutorial body should be neutral. But have prosecutors become too political?
• Explaining Brazil Podcast #95: You can’t spell Car Wash without leaks

• #pressFreedom