Brazilian Supreme Court justices at odds as election and probe into failed bank loom

SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s Supreme Court plunged further into an institutional crisis on Friday, with two of its best known justices now requesting major sanctions against each other. Justice Alexandre de Moraes, 57, became a household name after leading the case that put former President Jair Bolsonaro in prison last year for an attempted coup. His colleague Andre Mendonca, 53, is the court’s first evangelical member, appointed by Bolsonaro.

Their recent animosity stems from a sprawling federal investigation into the financial fraud surrounding the collapsed Banco Master and its disgraced owner, Daniel Vorcaro, a topic that has also ensnared some politicians ahead of October’s elections. Mendonca reportedly wants de Moraes suspended while the court decides whether he should be investigated in a potential graft case. De Moraes wants Mendonca investigated by the court and potentially impeached by the Senate for investigating him in an unauthorized proceeding.

They sit next to each other in the court, whose benches align according to who was named first. Mendonca on Tuesday unsealed a part of the federal police investigation revealing dozens of intercepted messages from Vorcaro showing he often sought advice from de Moraes. The new findings added to suspicions about de Moraes after federal police found his wife provided legal services to Banco Master as part of a 130 million reais ($25 million) contract.

The revelations this week triggered a wave of pressure from politicians, the media and legal experts for de Moraes to resign. “I am grateful to you for my life,” Vorcaro said in one message. “For the love of God, see if you can block all these evil (measures against Banco Master),” the banker said in another.

Even presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro, who has also been implicated in the Banco Master scandal for receiving about $21 million to fund a film on his father’s life, came out to urge the Supreme Court justice to leave his position. On Wednesday, the crisis at the Supreme Court deepened after Brazilian media showed Mendonca had also privately met with Vorcaro last year. The judge said in a statement he only listened to what the then bank owner had to say, in a “similar dialogue with other members of the Supreme Court to discuss the same matter.” And then Mendonca confirmed Thursday he had indeed had a more recent meeting with Vorcaro.