Falcão: Vaccari's continued presence doesn't embarrass the PT.

The national president of the PT (Workers' Party), Rui Falcão, stated that the continued presence of the party's treasurer, João Vaccari Neto, in his position does not cause embarrassment to the party; "A defendant is not guilty. A defendant is accused. He will defend himself, and I am certain that there is no wrongdoing. He did not take any money. All our donations are legal, declared to the courts, which have approved our accounts. We do not receive bribes, we do not have an off-the-books fund," he said.

March 27, 2015, 16:50 PMUpdated July 05, 2018, 09:04 pm

The national president of the PT (Workers' Party), Rui Falcão, stated that the continued presence of the party's treasurer, João Vaccari Neto, in his position does not cause embarrassment to the party; "A defendant is not guilty. A defendant is accused. He will defend himself, and I am certain that there is no wrongdoing. He did not take any money. All our donations are legal, declared to the courts, which have approved our accounts. We do not receive bribes, we do not have an off-the-books fund," he said (Photo: Paulo Emílio).

247 - The national president of the PT (Workers' Party), Rui Falcão, stated that the continued presence of the party's treasurer, João Vaccari Neto, in his position does not cause embarrassment to the party. "A defendant is not guilty. A defendant is accused. He will defend himself, and I am certain that there is no wrongdoing. He did not take any money. All our donations are legal, declared to the courts, which have approved our accounts. We do not receive bribes, we do not have an off-the-books fund," said Falcão.

"He has been under investigation for a year, his tax, banking and financial secrecy has already been broken. Nothing has been found; there is no evidence, except for the testimony of criminals. He will go to the CPI to clarify, he is at the disposal of the Justice system, he has already testified to the Federal Police and will now defend himself in light of the acceptance of the charges, like other defendants," stated the Workers' Party member.

Rui Falcão's statement was made this Friday (27) during an interview with Rádio Gaúcha, from Rio Grande do Sul, and came at a time when many members of the PT are asking for Vaccari's removal because of the process he is facing as a result of the Lava Jato Operation investigations, which investigates embezzlement and irregularities in Petrobras contracts.

Regarding the accusations that his fellow party member was involved in money laundering, passive corruption, and forming a criminal organization, Falcão was categorical. "A defendant is not guilty. A defendant is accused. He will defend himself, and I am certain there is no basis for his claims. He did not take any money. All our donations are legal, declared to the courts, which have approved our accounts. We do not receive bribes, we do not engage in slush funds. And one cannot accuse the PT of receiving bribes and other parties of receiving donations. All the companies that donated to us also donated to the PSDB, PMDB, PSB, and PSD. I see no reason for selectivity in the investigation," he observed.

"Why does a company donate to us and consider it a bribe, and donate to others and consider it a donation? There has been no revelation so far, there are testimonies, which need to be proven," he added. According to him, the investigations of Operation Lava Jato demonstrate that "there were people who appropriated resources, took bribes," although there is no confirmation of these facts regarding party donations.