The former president's team claims that the document was on Mauro Cid's cell phone and that Bolsonaro had printed the file to “make the text easier to read”
The defense of Jair Bolsonaro (PL) declared on Thursday (8.Feb.2024) that the former president had access to the draft on a possible coup d'état because he had received the document from his lawyer Paulo Cunha Bueno, who allegedly sent the file via cell phone.
In a note, the lawyers for the former head of the Executive state that possible drafts of State of Siege decrees were already part of the investigations by the PF (Federal Police) since the cell phone of Bolsonaro's former aide-de-camp, Lieutenant Colonel Mauro Cid , was seized. The content was allegedly found on the soldier's phone. Here's the complete of the note (PDF – 248 kB).
The note also says that, after the file is located and “widely reported” Through the press, Bolsonaro's defense had access to the records and the minutes, which constituted an element of the investigation.
For this reason, Bueno would have sent the file to the former head of the Executive, who printed the file for “make the text easier to read”. According to the lawyer, the impression “probably” remained in the same place where the search and seizure warrants were executed by the PF this Thursday (Feb 8).
“It is, therefore, a document that has been part of the investigation for some time and to which access was given to the former President by his lawyer, since, it must be said again, he was unaware, until then, of its existence and content”declared the defense.
In a video released on Thursday night, the lawyer reinforced what was written in the note. He said that Bolsonaro was not “adept” reading on small cell phone screens and, for this reason, preferred to print the draft.
“This document was not about and did not link the former president in any way to a coup d'état. It was a draft that was stored on the cell phone of Lieutenant Colonel Mauro Cid, a former aide-de-camp, and which, upon his arrest in May last year, was seized”, Bueno said in the video.
Watch (3min38s):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IImu3a59-oA
UNDERSTAND THE CASE
Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the STF (Supreme Federal Court), authorized this Thursday (Feb 8) an operation by the PF that targeted Bolsonaro, his allies and former members of his government. Here's the complete of the decision (PDF – 8 MB).
In the decision, Moraes states that Bolsonaro would have “written and adjusted” the decree that called for the arrest of authorities and called for new elections. According to a PF report, the former president called meetings with high-ranking Army soldiers to discuss the installation of an exceptional regime.
The alleged decree mentioned in the investigation established the arrest of ministers Alexandre de Moraes, Gilmar Mendes and the president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), in addition to calling for new elections. The justification would be alleged interference by the Judiciary in the Executive.
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