Brazil's Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that an ally of President Michel Temer can be a government minister despite allegations that his promotion was to protect him from a corruption probe.
Supreme Court Justice Celso de Mello's ruling ended a legal battle over the future of Wellington Moreira Franco, whom Temer raised from infrastructure investment secretary to a cabinet level position.
The nomination was controversial because Moreira Franco has been named in plea bargain testimony by former executives in the Odebrecht construction giant as taking part in illegal campaign funding. He denies any wrongdoing and has not been charged.
Once made a minister, Moreira Franco's case can only be heard by the Supreme Court, which deals with Congress and government members. This means he is shielded from prosecution in lower courts, while Supreme Court cases typically take far longer to come to trial.
However, Celso de Mello wrote in his ruling that the ministerial status "does not give immunity."
A lower court judge had initially blocked Moreira Franco's nomination, citing the precedent of a similar case last year in which Temer's leftist predecessor Dilma Rousseff tried to bring her own predecessor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, into the government.
That move was widely seen as an attempt to shield Lula, who was embroiled in his own graft probe. It also ultimately failed and the former president now faces trial in lower courts.
Brazilian politics has been shaken to its roots by revelations of a far-reaching embezzlement and bribery network centered on Petrobras state oil company and the Odebrecht construction conglomerate in which political parties were funded with bribe money.
Brazil’s Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that an ally of President Michel Temer can be a government minister despite allegations that his promotion was to protect him from a corruption probe.
Supreme Court Justice Celso de Mello’s ruling ended a legal battle over the future of Wellington Moreira Franco, whom Temer raised from infrastructure investment secretary to a cabinet level position.
The nomination was controversial because Moreira Franco has been named in plea bargain testimony by former executives in the Odebrecht construction giant as taking part in illegal campaign funding. He denies any wrongdoing and has not been charged.
Once made a minister, Moreira Franco’s case can only be heard by the Supreme Court, which deals with Congress and government members. This means he is shielded from prosecution in lower courts, while Supreme Court cases typically take far longer to come to trial.
However, Celso de Mello wrote in his ruling that the ministerial status “does not give immunity.”
A lower court judge had initially blocked Moreira Franco’s nomination, citing the precedent of a similar case last year in which Temer’s leftist predecessor Dilma Rousseff tried to bring her own predecessor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, into the government.
That move was widely seen as an attempt to shield Lula, who was embroiled in his own graft probe. It also ultimately failed and the former president now faces trial in lower courts.
Brazilian politics has been shaken to its roots by revelations of a far-reaching embezzlement and bribery network centered on Petrobras state oil company and the Odebrecht construction conglomerate in which political parties were funded with bribe money.
