In his testimony, Cunha shields Temer and accuses the Public Prosecutor's Office and Joesley of framing the case.
Former congressman Eduardo Cunha stated that the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office and businessman Joesley Batista, one of the owners of the J&F group, fabricated an alleged purchase of his silence in order to incriminate Michel Temer; "There is no truth to the story that I am silent because I am being paid not to testify. Part of this is fabricated to impute a crime to Michel [Michel Temer] in his current term," he said; the alleged purchase of Cunha's silence formed the basis of one of the accusations made by the then Attorney General of the Republic, Rodrigo Janot, against Temer.
Felipe Pontes, reporter for Agência Brasil - Former congressman Eduardo Cunha said today (6) that the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office (MPF) and businessman Joesley Batista, one of the owners of the J&F group, forged an alleged purchase of his silence, in order to incriminate President Michel Temer.
"There's no truth to the story that I'm keeping quiet because I'm being paid not to testify. Part of this is fabricated to accuse Michel [President Michel Temer] of a crime during his current term," Cunha stated. "They fabricated it, and Joesley was complicit in this fabrication, and he's paying for it now."
The alleged purchase of Cunha's silence formed the basis of one of the accusations made by the then Attorney General of the Republic, Rodrigo Janot, against Temer, after Joesley recorded a conversation in which the president apparently gave his consent to payments to the former congressman.
The former congressman, who is in pre-trial detention after being convicted in the first instance in Lava Jato, was questioned this Monday (6) by Judge Vallisney de Souza Oliveira, of the 10th Federal Court of Brasília, responsible for Operation Sépsis, which investigates cases of corruption in the vice-presidency of Government Funds and Lotteries at Caixa Econômica Federal.
Cunha denied any involvement with bribe payments from companies and said he was unaware of the alleged irregularities at Caixa Econômica Federal, calling the suggestion that he would receive money to not implicate Temer in the scheme "ridiculous."
As a way of demonstrating that he is not being paid for his silence, Cunha said he is currently living in "a situation of absolute destitution," unable even to pay his lawyers' fees.
Impeachment
The former congressman also denied asking for money to buy the impeachment of then-President Dilma Rousseff, a crime he was accused of in the plea bargain testimony of his former financial operator, Lúcio Funaro.
"His claim that I asked for money for the impeachment is ridiculous," said Cunha. "Where is the message that I asked for it? Where is the message that I paid it? On the date of the impeachment, I hadn't seen him [Funaro] for six months."
Cunha's testimony in the criminal case resulting from Operation Sépsis continues throughout this Monday. Three other defendants were already heard last week - in addition to Funaro, Fábio Cleto, former vice-president of Caixa Econômica Federal, and Alexandre Magotto, former employee of the stockbroker. Former minister Henrique Eduardo Alves, also a defendant, will be the last to be questioned.