The Intercept Brasil’s innovative strategy for covering the Car Wash leaks

From the outset, the Brazilian version of The Intercept has dedicated itself to covering our country’s politics from the viewpoint of investigative journalism. Its mission has been very clear from the start: to hold the powerful accountable through extensive reporting. It was no surprise, therefore, when Glenn Greenwald announced that he and his team had received an archive related to Operation Car Wash, the most important and controversial corruption probe in Brazilian history. The Intercept Brasil began its series of articles on June 9, a Sunday night, revealing that the most notorious judge connected to the probe, Sergio Moro, had been giving advice to task force prosecutors.

The news came as political and legal dynamite. It is illegal under the Brazilian constitution for judges to communicate or exchange any kind of information with the accusation or the defense. The case takes on another dimension as Mr. Moro is now the country’s Justice Minister, having been appointed to the post by President Jair Bolsonaro. There is a real possibility that the cases Mr. Moro presided over will be annulled. More specifically, the judge’s conviction of former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who has been in prison for over a year.

Essays can be written about all the legal and political implications this case has but I will limit myself to commenting on the ingenious strategy devised by The Intercept Brasil in publishing the stories. So far, at least nine articles have been published, and it is all the political media in Brazil is talking about.

(If you want more details on the case and its possible implications, click here. Or here, if you want to listen to The Brazilian Report‘s chat with The Intercept‘s managing editor, Andrew Fishman.)

The first blow to the judge and prosecutors

When the first revelation was published, those involved didn’t deny the veracity of the material obtained by The Intercept Brasil. Deltan Dallagnol (Car Wash’s most prominent prosecutor) and Sergio Moro condemned what they saw as an invasion of their privacy. It was only after a couple of other articles that...