Fachin diverges and votes in favor of the restoration of Lava Jato acts against Palocci

Minister Edson Fachin of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) voted on Monday to restore the acts of Operation Lava Jato against former Finance Minister Antonio Palocci. The decision marks a divergence compared to ministers Dias Toffoli and Gilmar Mendes, who had already voted for the complete annulment of the processes.

The trial takes place in the Virtual Plenary of the Second Class of the Supreme Court and runs until Friday (5), unless any of the ministers ask for a view or request prominence to bring the case to the physical plenary.

Fachin understood that the Supreme Court should not analyze the request for annulment presented by Palocci’s defense, reinforcing the argument of the Attorney General’s Office (PGR), which appealed to the Toffoli decision published in February.

Read too

Senate runs to harden penalties for theft and theft before the Lula government project

Proposal reported by Mourão anticipates the initiative of justice and can raise penalties to up to 20 years

For the minister, the indiscriminate annulment of all procedural acts of Lava Jato involving Palocci is not responsible for all the procedural acts. Fachin stated that it is necessary to individualize which evidence was effectively compromised, without generally discarding the probative set gathered during investigations.

Voting is aligned with the PGR’s appeal, which maintains that Palocci’s situation is distinct from other cases already faced by the Supreme Court, such as President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (PT).

The PGR feature

In the appeal presented, the Attorney General, Paulo Gonet, argues that Palocci tries, through procedural maneuvers, to exempt himself from criminal responsibilities without presenting consistent legal grounds.

“The election formulated is not supported by concrete procedural vices or in the absence of just cause, but in the claim to detach itself from an autonomous, valid and robust probative collection, whose existence, in part, was recognized by his award -winning collaboration,” Gonet wrote.

He also stressed that the generic annulment of evidence, without individualization, can impair the state’s ability to combat complex crimes such as corruption and money laundering.

CANCELLATION OF ACTS

Minister Dias Toffoli, rapporteur of the appeal, annulled all Lava Jato acts against Palocci, based on the understanding already consolidated by the court that there was a bias of former judge Sergio Moro and members of the Federal Prosecutor.

According to Toffoli, the attorneys and magistrates of the operation “ignore the contradictory, the broad defense and the institutionality itself to ensure their personal and political objectives.”

Toffoli was also the author of the decision that annulled evidence from Odebrecht’s leniency agreement and, more recently, questioned the legality of cooperation between the prosecutor and foreign authorities in Lava Jato. Minister Gilmar Mendes accompanied the rapporteur’s vote.

In addition to Palocci, the decision may have repercussions on other Lava Jato actions, as the Supreme has reevaluated a series of lawsuits started at the 13th Federal Court of Curitiba under the conduct of Sergio Moro. The tendency of the Court has been to nullify procedural acts when there is evidence of original vice – especially when involving due process of law or suspected judicial bias.

However, Fachin’s vote and PGR’s opinion indicate an attempt to modulate the effects of these cancellations, separating evidence that may have been validly harvested and preserving criminal liability when possible.

The second class of the Supreme Court is composed by ministers Edson Fachin (president), Dias Toffoli, Gilmar Mendes, Nunes Marques and André Mendonça. To date, the score is 2-1 for maintaining the annulment of acts against Palocci.