Vaza Jato

Vaza Jato, roughly meaning Car Wash Leaks, is the term used by the Brazilian press for leaked conversations in the Telegram app about the actions, decisions and positions of officials conducting investigations for Operation Car Wash (Lava Jato). These officials include former judge Sergio Moro[1] and prosecutor Deltan Dallagnol.[2][3] The conversations were reported by the journalist Glenn Greenwald of The Intercept in June 2019.[4][5] He believed this was one of the most important reports of his career.

The transcripts of the private chats[6] would indicate that Moro provided insider information to prosecutors, assisting the Federal Prosecutor's Office (MPF) in building cases, as well as directing the prosecution, requesting operations against relatives of witnesses, suggesting modification in the phases of the Lava Jato operation. They also showed agility in new operations, strategic advice, providing informal clues, and resource suggestions to the MPF to convict the former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on corruption charges.[7][8][9]

The leaks had wide repercussions. Sergio Moro, the Lava Jato task force and the MPF, to defend themselves against the accusations, questioned the authenticity and origin of the data.[10][11]

Chronology

On June 9, 2019, The Intercept published three articles showing internal discussions, coordinated by prosecutor Dallagnol, in collaboration with former judge Moro. The three articles were summarized in two articles into English: Part 1[12] and Part 2.[13] The exchanges were highly controversial, politicized and legally dubious attitudes of the Lava Jato task force.[14] The Intercept, in this phase, explains how and why they are publishing private chats about Lava Jato and Sergio Moro.[13] The reporters also show that Lava Jato prosecutors secretly plotted to prevent Lula from interviewing before the elections for fear that he would help ‘elect Haddad’ and, additionally, that Dallagnol doubted the evidence against Lula[12] and Petrobras' bribery hours before the denunciation of the triplex.[15][16]

In Part 4, the conversation shows that the judge, not the prosecutors, was in charge of the investigation. He suggested that investigators change the order of phases of the Lava Jato, called for agility in new operations, gave strategic advice and informal clues, anticipated a decision he would rectify, criticized and suggested appeals to the Public Prosecutor's Office and scolded Dallagnol.[17]

Investigative reports surfaced in the midst of a deep political, economic and social crisis that Brazil is going through. For years, various sectors of society have denounced deviations, abuses and unconstitutional actions committed by the Lava Jato operation.[18] The following day, several representatives of the right-wing media, O Globo, Fato or Fake, as well as Agência Lupa and the site Aos Fatos, attacked the veracity of some facts in the article.[19]

On June 12, 2019, Greenwald published the entire reserved dialogues, from October 2015 to September 2017, relevant to the report published on June 9 (Part 5).[20][21] Telegram messages leaked between Moro and Dallagnol, now included Luis Fux, Minister of Justice of the Supreme Federal Court. The messages show evidence of pressure from Moro, current Justice Minister of Jair Bolsonaro, to speed up the ruling despite the lack of evidence. Moro stated, in order to calm down the prosecutors about an appeal: "In Fux we trust".[22]

Due to the political-party bias implicit in the dissemination of messages, on June 14, 2019, the left parties asked for the resignation of the Minister of Justice. Moro responded that he will not step down from his post and that he was the target of a cyber attack and that the country is facing "a crime in progress", promoted by a large professional criminal organization.[23] On the same day, a Congressman from Bolsonaro's party explicitly was threatening Greenwald with arrest and/or deportation for reporting on the "massive improprieties of Bolsonaro's Justice Minister and the prosecutors who imprisoned Lula". Reacting to the Vaza Jato exposé, Rep. Ro Khanna[24] and Sen. Bernie Sanders joined the Free Lula movement and each raised concerns over Lula's continued imprisonment and the Bolsonaro government's involvement in the scandal.[25]

References

  1. McCoy, Terrence. "He's the 'hero' judge who oversaw Brazil's vast Car Wash corruption probe. Now he's facing his own scandal". Washington Post. Retrieved 2019-10-15.
  2. Phillips, Dom (2019-07-08). "Bolsonaro minister who jailed Lula takes leave after leaks cast doubt on impartiality". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-10-15.
  3. "Carwash Scandal Sparks Calls for Brazil's Moro to Resign". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2019-10-15.
  4. Fishman, Andrew; Martins, Rafael Moro; Demori, Leandro; Greenwald, Glenn; Audi, Amanda (2019-06-17). ""Their Little Show": Exclusive: Brazilian Judge in Car Wash Corruption Case Mocked Lula's Defense and Secretly Directed Prosecutors' Media Strategy During Trial". The Intercept. Retrieved 2019-10-15.
  5. Greenwald, Glenn; Pougy, Victor (2019-07-05). "Scandal for Bolsonaro's Justice Minister Sergio Moro Grows as The Intercept Partners With Brazil's Largest Magazine for New Exposé". The Intercept. Retrieved 2019-10-15.
  6. Brasil, The Intercept (2020-01-21). "Leia todas as reportagens que o Intercept e parceiros produziram para a Vaza Jato". The Intercept. Retrieved 2020-02-01.
  7. Fishman, Andrew; Martins, Rafael Moro; Demori, Leandro; Santi, Alexandre de; Greenwald, Glenn (2019-06-09). "Breach of Ethics: Exclusive: Leaked Chats Between Brazilian Judge and Prosecutor Who Imprisoned Lula Reveal Prohibited Collaboration and Doubts Over Evidence". The Intercept. Retrieved 2019-10-15.
  8. "Sergio Moro investigado por violações de direitos humanos". Extra Classe (in Portuguese). 2019-07-11. Retrieved 2019-10-15.
  9. Cittadino, Gisele (2018), Cittadino, Gisele; Proner, Carol; Ricobom, Gisele; Dornelles, João Ricardo (eds.), "The multiple and perverse meanings of Sérgio Moro's sentence", Comments on a notorious verdict, the trial of Lula, CLACSO, pp. 62–64, JSTOR j.ctvn96gjp.15
  10. Londoño, Ernesto; Casado, Letícia (2019-06-10). "Leaked Messages Raise Fairness Questions in Brazil Corruption Inquiry". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-10-15.
  11. "Crisis for Bolsonaro's justice minister Sergio Moro after leaks reveal that he targeted Lula for political prosecution". Boing Boing. 2019-07-06. Retrieved 2019-10-15.
  12. Greenwald, Glenn; Pougy, Victor (2019-06-09). "Hidden Plot: Exclusive: Brazil's Top Prosecutors Who Indicted Lula Schemed in Secret Messages to Prevent His Party From Winning 2018 Election". The Intercept. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
  13. Greenwald, Glenn; Demori, Leandro; Reed, Betsy (2019-06-09). "How and Why The Intercept Is Reporting on a Vast Trove of Materials About Brazil's Operation Car Wash and Justice Minister Sergio Moro". The Intercept. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
  14. Greenwald, Glenn; Reed, Betsy; Demori, Leandro (2019-06-09). "Como e por que o Intercept está publicando chats privados sobre a Lava Jato e Sergio Moro". The Intercept. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
  15. Martins, Rafael Moro; Demori, Leandro; Greenwald, Glenn (2019-06-09). "'Até agora tenho receio': Exclusivo: Deltan Dallagnol duvidava das provas contra Lula e de propina da Petrobras horas antes da denúncia do triplex". The Intercept. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
  16. "Brazil's justice minister accused of collaborating to jail ex-president Lula". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2020-03-23.
  17. Fishman, Andrew; Martins, Rafael Moro; Demori, Leandro; Santi, Alexandre de; Greenwald, Glenn (2019-06-09). "Breach of Ethics: Exclusive: Leaked Chats Between Brazilian Judge and Prosecutor Who Imprisoned Lula Reveal Prohibited Collaboration and Doubts Over Evidence". The Intercept. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
  18. "Documentos inéditos revelam o papel político da Lava Jato contra Lula e o PT" [Unpublished documents reveal the political role of Lava Jato against Lula and the PT]. Brasil de Fato (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2020-03-15.
  19. "Não, esta imagem não é de um dos trechos das conversas divulgadas entre o ex-juiz Moro e o procurador da Lava Jato". Checamos (in Portuguese). 2019-06-12. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
  20. "Novos diálogos entre Moro e Dallagnol são publicados pelo Intercept". Migalhas (in Portuguese). 2019-06-13. Retrieved 2020-03-23.
  21. "Secret Files Show How Brazil's Elites Jailed Former President Lula and Cleared the Way for Bolsonaro". Democracy Now!. Retrieved 2020-03-23.
  22. The, NINJA (6/12/2019). "'In Fux we trust': Nuevas revelaciones en el Vaza Jato involucran al Ministro de Justicia del Tribunal Federal Supremo". Rede NINJA (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-03-23. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  23. ""Se quiserem publicar tudo, publiquem. Não tem problema", desafia Moro". EXAME (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2020-03-23.
  24. orinocotribune (2019-06-14). "Bernie Sanders Calls for Release of Brazil's Ex-President Lula | Orinoco Tribune". orinocotribune.com. Retrieved 2020-03-23.
  25. "After Exposing 'Corrupted' Brazilian Government, Journalist Glenn Greenwald Faces Deportation Warning and Death Threats". Common Dreams. Retrieved 2020-03-23.
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