Criminal lawyer Eduardo Pizarro Carnelós takes on Temer's defense.
Michel Temer has chosen Eduardo Carnelós to replace Antônio Cláudio Mariz de Oliveira in his defense against accusations of criminal organization and obstruction of justice; Mariz left Temer's defense team after previously defending Lúcio Funaro, a financial operator who accuses Temer of receiving bribes.
Legal Consultant - Michel Temer (PMDB) chose lawyer Eduardo Pizarro Carnelós this Friday (September 22nd) to defend him in a new complaint filed by the Attorney General's Office. The criminal lawyer takes over the position left by his colleague Antônio Cláudio Mariz de Oliveira, who announced his departure after having already defended financier Lúcio Funaro, who accuses the PMDB member of receiving bribes.
According to the newspaper Folha de S.Paulo, the new lawyer was chosen from a list of four people suggested by the former lawyer. According to O Estado de S. Paulo, Mariz received Temer and Carnelós at his office on Avenida Paulista, in São Paulo, this Friday.
Carnelós presided over the São Paulo Lawyers Association and the National Council for Criminal and Penitentiary Policy, linked to the Ministry of Justice. He was one of the lawyers who, in 2016, signed a manifesto against the procedures of "Lava Jato" and compared the operation to a "neo-inquisition".
This year, the criminal lawyer defended Minister Gilmar Mendes of the Supreme Federal Court in an article in Folha de S.Paulo. He wrote that, although "vilifying" the minister has become "Brazilians' favorite sport at the moment," Gilmar has been judging and granting Habeas Corpus in accordance with the law.
Temer and other members of the PMDB party are accused of negotiating at least R$ 587 million in bribes through various public bodies, such as Petrobras, Furnas, Caixa Econômica, the Ministry of National Integration, and the Chamber of Deputies.
On Thursday (September 21), the Supreme Court rejected a request from Temer's defense seeking to suspend the proceedings of the indictment until the end of the investigation into alleged irregularities in the plea bargain agreement signed by JBS executives. This agreement, reached with the Attorney General's Office, gave rise to the accusation of a common crime.
By majority vote, the justices understood that it is not up to the court to pass judgment on any arguments raised by the defense before the Chamber of Deputies examines the admissibility of the charges against the president.
Public statement
In another defense strategy, Temer used social media this Friday to deny the accusations made by former Attorney General Rodrigo Janot. In a video posted on Twitter, he used terms such as "fabricated evidence" and "inept accusations."
According to the president, "the basic principle of innocence has been subverted: now everyone is guilty until proven innocent." Temer again criticized the audio recording of a conversation between him and businessman Joesley Batista, which gave rise to the first accusation—rejected by the Chamber of Deputies in early August—and highlighted Joesley's arrest, which occurred this month.
"Thanks to the audios they tried to hide, but which accidentally came to light, it is now known that a conspiracy with multiple purposes was orchestrated against me. They conspired to leave the biggest confessed criminals in Brazil unpunished," he declared.
*With information from Agência Brasil.