05/16/2024 – 15:50
The Minister of Justice, Ricardo Lewandowski, told three deputies allied with former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) that he could not fail to send the fake news reports about the climate tragedy in Rio Grande do Sul to the Federal Police (PF). The meeting took place this Thursday, 16th, at the department’s headquarters.
In the meeting, which lasted around an hour, Lewandowski said that he could not choose not to send the letter that was made by the minister of the Secretariat of Social Communication of the Presidency (Secom), Paulo Pimenta, to the PF, at the risk of committing a malfeasance. The Minister of Justice also said that he did not make a value judgment on the content of the complaints filed by Pimenta.
The three deputies who spoke with Lewandowski were Eduardo Bolsonaro (PL-SP), son of the former president, the president of the Constitution and Justice Committee (CCJ) of the Chamber, Caroline de Toni (PL-SC), and deputy Paulo Bilynskyj (PL-SP).
Pimenta’s letter was sent to Lewandowski on Tuesday, 7th. In the document, the Secom minister denounces the existence of “misinformative and criminal narratives linked to the floods and environmental disasters that occurred in the State of Rio Grande do Sul”.
Pimenta was appointed minister of the Extraordinary Secretariat of the Presidency to Support the Reconstruction of Rio Grande do Sul, which was formally created by Lula in a federal government agenda held in the state this Wednesday, 15th.
Pimenta’s complaint includes posts made by deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro (PL-SP), coach and influencer Pablo Marçal and senator Cleitinho Azevedo (Republicanos-MG). The head of Secom pointed out that the former president’s son spread false news by sharing a newspaper report Folha de S. Paulo with the title “After 4 days of rain, Lula government authorizes the sending of the National Force to RS”.
In the meeting with Lewandowski, parliamentarians said that Eduardo Bolsonaro’s post was a manifestation of “freedom of expression” and highlighted that he has parliamentary immunity. The Minister of Justice emphasized that he did not make a value judgment about the letter and that he followed the protocol of sending the document to the PF.
To the Estadão, Paulo Bilynskyj stated that the parliamentarians were “well received” and that the conversation with Lewandowski was “technical and friendly”. According to the parliamentarian, Pimenta’s letter shows that the minister is using the public sector to “censor those who denounced the government”.
Pimenta was invited to clarify allegations of fake news at the Chamber’s CCJ
Initially, the strategy of opposition deputies to the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) was to summon Lewandowski and Pimenta to a hearing at the Chamber’s CCJ. After an agreement with the government base, parliamentarians decided to have a private conversation with the head of Justice and approved an invitation to the Secom minister.
The suggested date for Pimenta’s presence at the collegiate is May 28, but the minister can refuse to attend the hearing, if he wishes.
The author of the request is Bilynskyj, who wants to hear from the head of Secom “clarifications regarding the opening of an investigation to pursue opponents who denounced failures and abuses by the federal government in the tragedy caused by the rains in Rio Grande do Sul, among others”.
On the same day that Pimenta sent the letter to Lewandowski, the Secom minister defended the need to “f*ck the guys” who are accused of spreading false news during a ministerial meeting. An interlocutor at the meeting asked what should be done: “Have them arrested?” Pimenta replied: “Have him arrested, I can’t take any more fake news.”
The floods in Rio Grande do Sul have already left at least 149 dead and 108 missing as of this Wednesday morning, the 15th. Throughout the state of Rio Grande do Sul, there are around 538,000 homeless people and 76,000 people in public shelters. According to the state Civil Defense, 446 of the 497 municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul were affected by the storms.
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