Feds subpoena Bolsonaro to testify on leak of sealed information

Photo: Marcos Corrêa/PR

Multiple Brazilian outlets report that the Brazilian Federal Police have subpoenaed President Jair Bolsonaro to testify on the alleged leak of a sealed investigation concerning the hack of electoral systems in 2020.

During the November 2020 municipal elections, the Superior Electoral Court suffered two coordinated hacking attacks. Criminals managed to disrupt the usually fast-paced count of electronic ballots, but authorities said they were unable to tamper with any sensitive data.

On August 5 of this year, Mr. Bolsonaro posted documents on Twitter that he claimed to be part of a federal probe into the incident — as part of his years-long effort to delegitimize Brazil’s 100-percent electronic voting system. He also claimed during a Facebook live broadcast that hackers “entered the heart of the system” and “defrauded ballot boxes.”

After the documents were posted (they have since been removed), the Supreme Court opened an investigation at the request of electoral authorities. Besides Mr. Bolsonaro, Congressman Filipe Barros and the case’s leading investigator — who was removed from the investigation — are targeted as suspects of being accessories in the leak.

In recent weeks, the Superior Electoral Court ran security checks on its electronic system and unveiled the newest model of voting machines — claiming all questions about its alleged vulnerabilities have been put to rest.