President Jair Bolsonaro issued written testimony to the Federal Police on Wednesday as part of an investigation into his alleged tampering with federal probes. In April 2020, former Justice Minister Sergio Moro resigned claiming the president had tried to handpick a chief of police to shield his family and friends from law enforcement.
Mr. Bolsonaro told the feds he “never had the intention” to interfere with the Federal Police’s inner workings. He claimed that picking a new chief of the organization was a way to enhance “dialogue” between authorities and receive better intelligence briefings.
The president added that Mr. Moro bargained for a change to the Federal Police command in exchange for a seat on the Supreme Court. In 2019, Mr. Bolsonaro publicly promised the nomination to Mr. Moro.
These accusations come one week before Mr. Moro will join the center-right Podemos party, with an eye on the 2022 presidential election. In response, the former Justice Minister said he does not exchange principles for benefits and claims the president’s words are not corroborated by other witnesses.
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