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Celso de Mello put the Federal Supreme Court in a tight robe. He did so by asking Luiz Fux to set the appeal trial that will define the format of Jair Bolsonaro’s statement to the Federal Police before his retirement date. The dean squeezed his colleagues between inconsistency and politeness. To be consistent, the Supreme Court must be rude to the dean on the eve of his retirement, scheduled for next Tuesday.
For the sake of consistency, the majority of the full Supreme Court must assure Bolsonaro the same prerogative granted to Michel Temer, who was authorized to testify in writing when he was investigated in 2017. In that case, the decision of Celso de Mello, who ordered the inquiry. Presence of Bolsonaro, investigated on suspicion of planning a political intervention in the FP. And the dean’s farewell would be adorned with the rudeness of defeat.
Celso de Mello left no alternative to his teammates. During his medical leave, Minister Marco Aurélio Mello cast a dissenting vote, authorizing Bolsonaro to testify in writing. In addition, it suspended the investigation of PF and transferred the final decision to the electronic plenary session of the Supreme Court, where the ministers hang their written votes, for subsequent scrutiny, without debate.
Back to work, Celso de Mello took the judgment of this electronic plenary to the physical plenary, which has been meeting by videoconference during the pandemic. In other words, the ministers will now have to show their faces, present their votes and submit to debate.
Celso de Mello will rise to the drawer to say that, in a republic that boasts itself, an investigated president can only receive the treatment that is given to any other Brazilian subject to a criminal investigation. And the companions will have to choose between their position and that of Marco Aurélio, author of the divergent vote.
In the Supreme Court, goodbyes are often marked by praise and comment. In the case of Celso de Mello, the reverence will be sincere, since his colleagues have a genuine admiration for him. The eventual imposition of a defeat on the honoree would be unusual. But …
However, the worst that could result from the just toga would be that the Supreme Court ministers allow recognition of the colleague to interfere in the eventual formation of a favorable majority to grant Bolsonaro the prerogative to testify in writing. Something that Michel Temer was assured by Minister Luís Roberto Barroso.
