Brazil Supreme Court removes federal police chief, deepening crisis at the top court

SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazilian Supreme Court Justice André Mendonca on Tuesday removed the head of the country’s federal police and its intelligence chief from their posts, deepening a crisis at the top court and drawing President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s government into the turmoil ahead of October national elections.

Mendonca, an appointee of former President Jair Bolsonaro, said in his ruling that federal police Director-General Andrei Rodrigues, a Lula nominee, and the intelligence director of the force, Leandro Almada, headed an organization that allegedly produced six illegal reports on the justice’s activities through the end of August.

Mendonca currently chairs two politically sensitive investigations: one into the collapse of Banco Master, which has ensnared several politicians, and another into alleged frauds in Brazil’s pension system. The first has hit mostly figures of the country’s opposition, while the latter has raised questions of wrongdoing by one of Lula’s sons.

Brazil’s government did not immediately respond to a request from The Associated Press on whether it will appeal.

Lula is bidding for reelection in October against Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, son of the former president who is currently serving his 27-year prison sentence at home for an attempted coup.

William Marcel Murad, the federal police’s executive director and Rodrigues’ acting replacement, said in a statement that the director-general has the force’s “full confidence” and that agents “will not be shaken by attacks.”

Later, 11 federal police directors said in a joint statement that they had offered their resignations to Murad, who will decide whether to accept them. The directors said Mendonca’s accusations “have no ground, and challenge the history, the credibility and the institutional commitment” of the force’s director-general and intelligence chief.

“Narratives that are notably influenced by electoral and political interests do not yield the power of erasing the history, the reputation and the professional trajectory” of federal police leaders, the statement read.

Mendonca’s decision to remove the federal police chief comes amid a major clash between him and fellow justice Alexandre de Moraes, who sentenced Bolsonaro to prison last year. Last week, Mendonca unsealed federal police documents that showed that Banco Master owner Daniel Vorcaro frequently sought de Moraes’ legal advice before his arrest.

De Moraes had previously denied wrongdoing involving Vorcaro, though his wife provided legal services to Banco Master as part of a 130 million reais ($25 million) contract. Since Mendonca’s decision to unseal documents last week, de Moraes is under pressure from politicians, the media and legal experts to resign. He is yet to make public comments about the case.

Brazil’s main media reported last week that Mendonca was seeking a suspension for de Moraes from the court until it decides whether he should be investigated in the potential graft case. De Moraes, in turn, said in another ruling that Mendonca should be investigated by the court and potentially impeached by the Senate for interviewing Vorcaro in August without the presence of federal police agents or prosecutors.

On Monday, Brazil’s Independence Day, tens of thousands of supporters of opposition presidential candidate Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro filled Sao Paulo’s key artery, with many calling for de Moraes’ removal. Demonstrators held a giant inflatable figure of Mendonca and wore shirts in support of the Supreme Court justice.

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