Chief Justice: Bolsonaro committed impeachable offenses. Speaker lets it slide

In the aftermath of the September 7 anti-democratic protests led by President Jair Bolsonaro, the political class was left on tenterhooks for a response from the heads of other branches of government. Yesterday, Mr. Bolsonaro said he would no longer respect rulings by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who oversees multiple cases which could directly affect the president and his family.

When opening today’s Supreme Court sitting, Chief Justice Luiz Fux delivered a harsh address — almost daring Jair Bolsonaro to fulfill his promise. “If contempt for judicial decisions comes from the head of a branch of government, that is [an impeachable offense], to be analyzed by Congress,” he said.

Chief Justice Fux also addressed President Bolsonaro’s supporters’ calls for the shutdown of the Supreme...