The legal action that should make Bolsonaro ineligible to run for office will not proceed in secrecy.
The request from Jair Bolsonaro's defense team was denied by Minister Benedito Gonçalves.
Brazil Agency – Minister Benedito Gonçalves, of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), decided this Thursday (13) to deny a request from the defense of former president Jair Bolsonaro to remove the secrecy of the investigation that could make him ineligible.
The request was made after lawyers complained about the release of the opinion in which the Electoral Public Prosecutor's Office (MPE) requested Bolsonaro's ineligibility. The request occurred within the scope of the process that discusses the legality of the former president's meeting with ambassadors to criticize the electronic voting system in 2022.
In his decision, the minister stated that the confidentiality of the procedural documents is necessary to protect the evidence and that the defense itself may disclose any information it deems necessary.
"Considering that the parties involved in the proceedings were reminded, in the previous order, that it is everyone's duty to preserve the confidential information transcribed or evaluated in the aforementioned documents, it is concluded that the investigated parties themselves, if they so wish, may take steps to ensure that the public disclosure of their final arguments observes this guideline, whether through redaction or other measures sufficient for the purpose stated in the order," the judge ruled.
The ruling was issued in the investigation in which the PDT (Democratic Labour Party) is challenging the legality of the meeting with ambassadors. The process is in the final arguments phase, the last before the trial, which could take place in the first half of this year.