Sawt Falasteen - Brazil's Supreme Court clashes over handling of probe involving judge

The court's 10 justices were convened by its president, Edson Fachin, to decide whether or not to open an investigation into Alexandre de Moraes, considered one of the most powerful figures in Brazil.

Moraes, who led the coup trial which convicted former president Jair Bolsonaro in 2025, has been accused of unsavory ties to a jailed banker involved in a major fraud case.

Fachin opened the session warning that "the country looks to this court. History, too, will look upon this moment."

However, the six-hour hearing, broadcast live, laid bare divisions, with justices shouting and trading insults as they remained stuck on procedural issues and how to handle internal investigations.

The crisis facing the Supreme Court is one of many erupting after the arrest last year of banker Daniel Vorcaro for alleged fraud, which unveiled a web of questionable ties that has ensnared judges, lawmakers and even right-wing presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro.

It erupted two weeks ago, when Justice Andre Mendonca, who was appointed by former far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro, unsealed a police report linked to the Vorcaro investigation.

It revealed messages sent by Vorcaro to a number attributed to Moraes, in which the banker sought the justice's help in the fraud investigation against him.

Moraes is the bete noire of the Bolsonaro clan and was briefly sanctioned by US President Donald Trump's administration over the coup trial against Jair Bolsonaro, an ally of Trump who is serving a 27-year sentence.

He has slammed the move as a bid to frame him for "political and electoral purposes."

During Tuesday's session, Moraes accused his rival of being "in the service of a political group that sought to stage a coup d'etat."

"Liar!" Mendonca retorted.

In another clash, Gilmar Mendes -- an ally of Moraes -- provoked Mendonca, who lost his temper, shouting: "Show me some respect!"

One of the questions judges grappled with was whether to unite the case against Moraes with a case questioning whether Mendonca improperly used his powers to investigate Moraes.

But the hearing ended in a deadlock, with Flavio Dino, slamming a "degradation of the court's image," securing a postponement that could last until December.

Justice Carmen Lucia, the court's only female member, expressed her "state of deep dismay and sadness."

"I am somewhat ashamed that, with less than twenty days to the election, everything revolves around what is happening at the Supreme Court," she said, asking "forgiveness from the Brazilian people."

- A country 'without a president' -

The crisis has dominated the campaign ahead of October 4 elections, expected to be a knife-edge race between leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, who is one of Jair Bolsonaro's sons.

"No one should remain under a cloud of suspicion. It is important to investigate, and whoever made a mistake must pay the price," Lula said in an interview Tuesday.

Moraes has become a near-constant presence in Brazil's headlines in recent years, at the center of one major political or judicial battle after another, many of which have angered conservatives.

"The current president shared his power with Alexandre de Moraes. And in the end, Brazil was left without any president," Flavio Bolsonaro said in a video on Tuesday.

On Monday, the senator overtook Lula for the first time in an opinion poll of voting intentions by the firm Quaest, which showed him at 42 percent against 40 percent for Lula in a runoff.

On Friday, it was revealed that Flavio Bolsonaro is under investigation for suspected corruption and money laundering regarding the financing of a film about his father, bankrolled by Vorcaro.

B.Mahmoud--SF-PST