Former Car Wash judge feels the sting of lawfare

Sergio Moro’s short political career has been marked by about-face after ironic about-face. From anti-corruption champion to Jair Bolsonaro’s lackey, Mr. Moro saw the massive political capital he amassed from his work as a judge crumble due to his poor calculations.

In 2022, he was forced to shelve his presidential aspirations and settle for a Senate seat he wouldn’t have won if not for riding on Mr. Bolsonaro’s coattails, months after calling the former president a dishonest man.

But Mr. Moro’s latest political challenge may be the most ironic he has faced so far.

The Federal Prosecution Office asked the Supreme Court to order his arrest for slandering one of its members. The move came just days after a short clip went viral showing Mr. Moro jokingly talking about someone “buying a habeas corpus” from Justice Gilmar Mendes. 

The clip depicts Mr. Moro at a Festa Junina, a traditional Brazilian celebration held countrywide in place in June and July. A common game at these parties is the jail prank, when a friend is “arrested” for a few minutes — or “released” early for a small fee. Someone tells Mr. Moro that he was trying to bribe the judge. He replies: “No, that’s bail, an institute to buy habeas corpuses from Gilmar Mendes.”

The senator said the video was taken out of context and...