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Federal judge Marcelo Bretas, responsible for the processes of Operation Lava Jato in Rio de Janeiro, became the target of disciplinary proceedings for appearing at a inauguration together with President Jair Bolsonaro (without party) and other politicians in February. .
The judge, head of the 7th Federal Criminal Court of Rio, where the Lava Jato cases are processed in the first instance, accompanied, as part of the presidential party, the opening of an access circuit to the Río-Niterói Bridge on February 15. In addition to Bolsonaro, the Mayor of Rio, Marcelo Crivella (Republicans) and ministers such as Augusto Heleno (Office of Institutional Security) and Tarcísio Freitas (Infrastructure), as well as Senator Flávio Bolsonaro (Republicans-RJ) were also present.
According to TRF2 (Federal Regional Court of the 2nd Region), the administrative disciplinary proceedings against the magistrate are carried out in secret. The investigation was opened at the request of the national corrector of the CNJ (National Council of Justice), Minister Humberto Martins. Days after the inauguration, the corregidor determined that TRF2 determines whether there was a practice of “acts of a political party nature” and of “overexposure and self-promotion.” The Organic Law of the Judiciary, which regulates the performance of judges, prohibits the “exercise of the activity of political parties”.
Martins’ decision was met at the request of the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB), which filed a disciplinary complaint with the council alleging that Bretas practiced activities of a political nature prohibited by judges. For the same reason, the MPF (Federal Prosecutor’s Office) requested the opening of an investigation to the TRF2 Department of Internal Affairs.
The judge gained national prominence in 2016, when he ordered the arrest of the former governor of Rio, Sérgio Cabral, due to the corruption schemes discovered in Operation Calicuite. His decisions have also reached several politicians and businessmen, such as former President Michel Temer (MDB) and Eike Batista, who already holds the title of Brazil’s richest man.
That week, Bretas was admitted to a private health unit in Rio de Janeiro, where he confirmed that he had contracted covid-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. The magistrate was admitted to treat the symptoms. OR Twitter Try to contact Bretas.
Sympathy with politicians was criticized
Bretas has come under fire for some years for showing sympathy for conservative politicians. In 2019, he published on his Instagram profile a photo of his hands with the governor of Rio, Wilson Witzel (PSC), for whom he wished for success: “May God guide and bless you,” he preached at the time. Marcilene Cristina Bretas Santana, Bretas’ sister, was appointed to a commissioned position in the State Comptroller’s Office in April 2019.
The proximity to the Bolsonaro clan was also criticized at different times. Bretas came out in defense of Bolsonaro when there was a leak of the statement of the doorman of the condominium where the president lived, in Barra da Tijuca, west of Rio. On the occasion, the employee of the Vivendas da Barra condominium declared that it was Bolsonaro who authorized the entry. Former Prime Minister Élcio de Queiroz, one of those accused of the murder of Councilwoman Marielle Franco, at the scene hours before the crime, a version that was later ruled out by investigations. In an interview with the Twitter Jamil Chad, the federal judge said, with the leak, “there may be a suspicion that it is being used politically, to harm A, B or C.”
The statement is in line with Bolsonaro’s reaction at the time. The president accused Witzel of disclosing the document to TV Globo to harm him. After this episode, Bretas and Witzel walked away, and Judge Lava Jato removed all the mentions of the Governor from their social networks.
In January of this year, Bretas also received a visit from Sergio Moro, former Minister of Justice and Public Security. On Instagram, he recorded the meeting.
In November 2019, Bretas apparently publicized the fact that he received a tribute at Alerj (Rio Legislative Assembly). The title of beneficiary citizen of Rio was proposed by state deputies Alana Passos (PSL-RJ), one of the Bolsonaro family’s most loyal supporters in Rio, and Rosane Felix (PSD-RJ), a well-known presenter of a gospel radio.
Conservative and religious, Bretas began to be speculated as a possible candidate for one of the vacancies in the STF (Supreme Federal Court) that will be nominated by Bolsonaro after the president declared, in July 2019, that he would nominate A “terribly evangelical” minister for the Bolsonaro court will have the right to choose at least two names for the STF, for the vacancies of Celso de Mello and Marco Aurélio Mello, who will receive mandatory retirement when they turn 75.
