A Brazilian supreme court justice opened the trial of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro on Tuesday with a statement defending the independence of the proceeding from foreign interference — a swipe at President Donald Trump.
Bolsonaro, a right-wing former Army officer, is accused of trying to stay in power after his 2022 election loss by planning a military coup that included a plot to kill the man who defeated him, leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Trump, a Bolsonaro ally, has called the prosecution a “witch hunt” and ordered economic and diplomatic sanctions to pressure officials to drop it.
Justice Alexandre de Moraes, one of Trump’s principal targets, did not name Trump or the United States but spoke of an effort by “another foreign state” to interfere with the proceeding.
“This attempt of obstruction will not affect the impartiality or independence of the justices in this court,” Moraes said from the bench. “We will never lack the courage to reject those who threaten our national sovereignty or the independence of the judiciary.”
“The seemingly easier path — that of impunity — leaves traumatic scars on society and eats away at democracy,” he said. “True national conciliation depends on respect for the Constitution, the enforcement of the law, and the strengthening of institutions. There can be no confusing genuine peace with the cowardice of appeasement.”
Posted by John3262005