Supreme Court delays vote on probe of Justice Moraes

Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court (STF) suspended its session Tuesday (Sept. 15) without reaching a decision on a Federal Police report containing messages sent by former banker Daniel Vorcaro, owner of Banco Master, to a mobile phone number attributed to Justice Alexandre de Moraes. Justice Flávio Dino asked for more time to review the case.

The session was consumed by arguments among the justices and a procedural motion filed by Gilmar Mendes seeking to have the case considered alongside Moraes’s request for an investigation into Justice André Mendonça for alleged abuse of authority. As a result, the court never reached the central question of whether Moraes should be investigated.

Dino has up to 90 days to return the case for consideration. If he uses the full period allowed under court rules, the proceedings would resume, at the earliest, in early December. Justices consulted by Valor said Dino is unlikely to seek to put the case back on the agenda before the October elections.

The pause could also delay a hearing scheduled for Sept. 23 on Moraes’s request for an investigation into Mendonça over alleged abuse of authority. Citing Federal Police reports, Moraes alleged irregularities in Mendonça’s handling of the Banco Master and National Social Security Institute (INSS) cases, saying his colleague had acted to target certain individuals while shielding others.

At the start of the session, Justice Kassio Nunes Marques recused himself, a move that could alter the balance when the court eventually considers the merits of the case — whether Moraes should be investigated.

Nunes Marques cited his position as president of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), saying he had no doubt the proceedings could affect the electoral process. Justice Dias Toffoli again stepped aside, as he has in all Banco Master cases since business ties emerged involving a fund linked to Fabiano Zettel, Vorcaro’s brother-in-law.

Dino requested more time after an argument between Justices Mendes and Mendonça — one of several heated exchanges during the session. He said the atmosphere in the courtroom made it impossible for the justices to deliberate, noting that Brazil was only days away from a presidential election.

“We are speaking in terms that degrade the Court’s image. Your Honor has been watching this for hours. If Your Honor is going to keep watching, I will not. We are in no position to deliberate. The atmosphere is only going to get worse, and society is watching,” Dino told Chief Justice Edson Fachin.

Even after Dino requested more time, the justices continued casting votes on the procedural motion. The session ended with a 4-3 vote against considering the two cases together. Fachin, who is overseeing the Moraes case, was joined by Luiz Fux, Mendonça and Cármen Lúcia. Cristiano Zanin, Mendes and Moraes voted in favor of combining the proceedings.

Dino had earlier supported considering the cases together but withdrew his vote after requesting more time to review the matter.

Courtroom clashes

The session featured repeated accusations and direct confrontations, particularly between Mendonça and some of the court’s more outspoken members, including Moraes and Mendes.

The most heated exchange came after Prosecutor General Paulo Gonet, who is also mentioned in the Federal Police report over alleged ties to people connected with Banco Master, defended himself.

“It is astonishing that someone of Paulo Gonet’s stature is subjected to this kind of insinuation. This is what is reckless [on Mendonça’s part]. A man driven by a policing mentality, alongside his police chiefs. The shamelessness of this man is astonishing,” Mendes shouted.

“The shamelessness is yours, Your Honor. Respect me. Respect me. This is not a joke,” Mendonça shouted back.

“Go ahead and cry, go ahead and cry,” Mendes replied.

“I’m not crying. There’s no crying here. Show some respect,” Mendonça said.

In another clash between the two, Mendes accused Mendonça of taking a “political-electoral” approach to the Banco Master case.

“There is an unmistakable political-electoral bias in the way this matter was handled. An obvious political-electoral approach. You don’t do that. Decent people don’t do that,” Mendes said.

Mendonça fired back.

“Your Honor is being reckless, Justice Gilmar. Don’t point your finger at me. You are not speaking to just anyone. Respect this Court.”

At another tense moment, Mendonça said there was a “parallel Federal Police” responsible for allegedly monitoring Supreme Court justices.

“We now have a parallel Federal Police. A parallel Federal Police carrying out surveillance. Don’t think you’re safe either, Justice,” Mendonça said.

Moraes then said he himself had been investigated at Mendonça’s direction.

“Who is afraid of the Federal Police? Who called the Federal Police and demanded that a colleague be included in a cooperation agreement? And we will bring that here, Chief Justice. We will bring it here and call witnesses, whom I will name,” Moraes said.

Moraes described the Federal Police report mentioning him as a “fraudulent investigation” carried out by Mendonça.

“Everything that was done, this fraudulent investigation into me, began long ago. Justice André, in a meeting, said: ‘Include Justice Alexandre.’ Why? Because he is serving a political group that tried to stage a coup in this country,” Moraes shouted, as Mendonça repeatedly said: “That’s a lie.”

Mendonça was appointed to the Supreme Court by former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is serving a prison sentence after being convicted over an attempted coup.

Mendonça argues that when he asked the Federal Police to identify the recipients of Vorcaro’s messages, he did not know Moraes’s name would emerge. He said he requested the report because the messages mentioned Gonet and Federal Police Director General Andrei Rodrigues.

Fachin’s handling

Fachin’s management of the case also drew criticism from fellow justices.

Moraes said there was nothing for the court to vote on because neither the Federal Police nor the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGR) had requested an investigation into him, which he argued would make the opening of a formal inquiry impossible.

“Is there any request to investigate me? No. What exactly are you going to vote on?” Moraes asked.

Dino, meanwhile, criticized Fachin for taking over the case himself, arguing that the move upset the balance among the Supreme Court’s members.

“This is a court of equals, and so we have to follow the rule. And the rule says that in no court in the country may a president remove a rapporteur,” Dino said.

Cármen Lúcia’s dismay

Cármen Lúcia remained silent for almost the entire session, speaking only when it was her turn to vote on Mendes’s procedural motion.

• The battle of the Supreme Court and voter exhaustion

She said she was in a state of “deep consternation and sadness” over the situation facing the Supreme Court.

“I’m sad. Not only because of the issue that brings us here, but because this Supreme Court has caused civic unease among all Brazilian citizens. I even feel ashamed that, 20 days before the election, everyone’s attention is focused on Supreme Court matters,” she said.

Gonet’s response

In a separate development Tuesday, Gonet submitted a statement to the Federal Prosecution Service’s Superior Council calling “preposterous” claims that he should not remain involved in the Banco Master case.

He also named other authorities who attended a 2024 event in London where he acknowledged having encountered Vorcaro.

“The invited authorities took part in panels over the course of the event. There were also moments when attendees socialized. It was only then, and together with several other guests, that I was with Mr. Daniel Vorcaro. It was in that single context that I met him in person (the only time up to then and to this day). Again, at the time, there was nothing public about illegal activities by Banco Master or its executive. Nothing of the sort had come to my attention,” Gonet said.

The Federal Police report made public by Mendonça earlier this month shows Vorcaro seeking information, allegedly from Moraes, about the investigation into him that would lead to his first arrest, ordered in November last year.

The former banker was also seeking protection. In the messages, for example, he asked whether “Andrei” and “Paulo” could intervene on his behalf. Shortly before his arrest was ordered, he asked whether he should leave the country.

The Federal Police document also said Moraes edited a R$131 million legal-services agreement between Vorcaro and attorney Viviane Barci, the justice’s wife. Investigators said the metadata from the digital document identified a username linked to Moraes as the author of the last change made to the draft.

*By Giullia Colombo,Tiago Angelo,Mateus Coutinho,Gabriela GuidoandMariana Andrade— Brasília and São Paulo

Source: Valoar International

https://valorinternational.globo.com/law/news/2026/09/16/supreme-court-delays-vote-on-probe-of-justice-moraes.ghtml