Toffoli denies Eduardo Cunha’s request to annul Lava Jato convictions

Minister Dias Toffoli, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), denied, this Wednesday (6), a request presented by the lawyers of former deputy Eduardo Cunha (RJ) for all his convictions under Operation Lava Jato to be cancelled.

The defense of Cunha, former president of the Chamber of Deputies, asked the Supreme Court to extend the effects of the decision that considered former judge Sergio Moro, now a senator of the Republic, suspected of acting in cases involving President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva ( PT).

In Lula’s case, all convictions were annulled by the STF. Recently, Toffoli benefited some of the operation’s biggest targets, such as businessmen Marcelo Odebrecht and Léo Pinheiro.

According to Eduardo Cunha’s lawyers, there is clear evidence of alleged collusion between Moro and the prosecutors who worked in Lava Jato. The basis of the request were messages leaked by hackers and seized in Operation Spoofing, by the Federal Police (PF).

In his decision, however, Toffoli assessed that there was no connection between the cases of Cunha and Lula that would justify the annulment of the convictions. Also according to the minister, the former president of the Chamber’s request could be assessed by other bodies of the Judiciary.

“The claim now under analysis is formulated based on the dialogues initially transcribed between the former magistrate and members of the Public Prosecutor’s Office with the aim of demonstrating direct collusion in relation to the applicant, with the cause of the dispute being in an extremely subjective situation, strange to that of the precedent invoked, insofar as the direct dialogues reproduced in the initial report only concern the moment in which the complaint would be presented”, noted Toffoli.

For the STF minister, “the claim made in this headquarters does not appear to be viable, without prejudice to the examination of the matter by ordinary courts”.

“We do this with great sadness”

Last month, Toffoli defended his recent decisions that annulled convictions imposed by Lava Jato, in addition to evidence and criminal proceedings, which ended up benefiting a series of defendants and those being investigated.

The judge commented on the case during the trial session of the Second Panel of the STF, of which he is a member, on October 16th.

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“We do this with great sadness, because it is the State that was wrong. The investigating State and the accusing State. And the judge State is exactly there to put checks and balances in place and guarantee what the Constitution gives to the citizen, which is the fullness of defense”, stated Toffoli, pointing out what he considers to be the illegalities of Lava Jato.

“We all know where the lack of fullness and defense led and how processes were carried out in an incorrect and illegal way”, continued the Supreme Court minister.

“It is truly regrettable when we have to declare an act of State illegal, but the error was made at the origin”, added Toffoli.

Also according to Toffoli, the court has been denying requests presented by the defenses of those involved “in a much greater proportion” than the decisions that favored the defendants.

“If the party shows that the evidence already declared null by the Supreme Court is used in its process, I will grant the extension. There were few cases. In more than 140 cases I denied the extension”, he stated.

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