Thomaz Bastos: "I have never engaged in influence peddling."

247 - Lawyer Marcio Thomaz Bastos now finds himself in the delicate position of a man who constantly has to explain his actions. Until yesterday, he was Minister of Justice. Today, he is the lawyer for the country's biggest racketeer, who this week made a fool of the parliamentarians who are part of the CPI (Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry) investigating Carlos Cachoeira.

The first to voice his bewilderment at the former minister's actions was the musician (and also lawyer) Alceu Valença. On his Facebook page, the singer from Pernambuco questioned the decorum of a public figure who is willing to accept R$ 15 million from a gambling operator. Money of probably illicit origin. And who advises him to remain silent in the CPI (Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry) so as not to produce evidence against himself.

Accustomed to praise and flattery, Marcio Thomaz Bastos is bothered by the damage the Cachoeira case could cause to his image. This week, he spoke to journalist Mônica Bergamo of Folha de S. Paulo, and now to Claudio Dantas Sequeira and Izabelle Torres of Istoé. In this interview, he said he never engaged in influence peddling. “I was a lawyer for 45 years, spent four years at the Ministry of Justice, from which I left six years ago, and returned to practicing law. Always within the same ethical standards I had before,” he stated to Istoé.

Bastos also said that all citizens have the right to a defense, that there is a presumption of innocence, and that only one's conscience can relinquish their right to defend themselves. But could Alceu Valença be wrong? Can the man who, until yesterday, embodied the law, today become the advisor to R$15 million in organized crime?

Read the article from Istoé magazine below:

Last week, former Justice Minister Márcio Thomaz Bastos was involved in two episodes capable of generating serious controversy in the country's political and legal world. In one, he exerted public pressure on the Supreme Federal Court. In the other, the most visible and controversial of them, he positioned himself as an obstacle to the work that the National Congress intended to carry out. In both cases, he did not commit any illegalities by opposing two branches of government. But his actions could not be seen as mere routine acts of a criminal defense lawyer. The former Justice Minister's actions were imbued with an undeniable and resounding political connotation. Márcio Thomaz Bastos and most of his clients know that he is still a powerful man, with influence over parties, parliamentarians, and courts. In recent years, he has been an advisor to two presidents of the Republic and has provided legal support to several members of the Workers' Party (PT). In addition, he played a decisive role in the appointment of seven of the 11 current ministers of the Supreme Federal Court. 

In the most emblematic case, Márcio Thomaz Bastos, at times, seemed to mock Congress and taxpayers. He stood next to the illegal gambling operator Carlinhos Cachoeira during a hearing at the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPI) investigating the corruption and money laundering scheme orchestrated by the racketeer. He advised his client to remain silent, to avoid producing evidence against himself, thus provoking the anger of deputies and senators who saw in the testimony a hope of advancing the investigations. The constitutional right of any defendant to a full defense is indisputable, regardless of the accusation or wrongdoing committed. No one is obliged to produce evidence against themselves. It is also the duty of a lawyer to defend an accused person before the courts, even when they lack resources. However, the CPI is guided by a process that is much more political than legal. And, as was known to all the parliamentarians present, Thomaz Bastos did not remain seated next to a racketeer throughout the session merely as a great criminal lawyer. He was the epitome of something unprecedented: for the first time in the history of Congress, a former public servant who occupied the highest sphere of the national Judiciary was providing cover and support, in the spotlight, to a gambling operator, a notorious criminal who had already proven himself harmful to public funds. "I hope I never again find the former minister in a situation like this," said Congressman Miro Teixeira (PDT-RJ).

That same week, Thomaz Bastos appeared alongside nine other lawyers representing defendants in the Mensalão scandal as a signatory to a document expressing concern about the wave of criticism directed at the Supreme Federal Court in the case. They fear that the trial will be overshadowed by its political nature and transform into an "exceptional court," and thus suggest to the court a procedure with a limit on the number of weekly sessions. The fact that he has, in some cases, nominated, and in others, helped to choose the majority of the current members of the Supreme Court does not seem to bother the former minister. "I was a lawyer for 45 consecutive years, I spent four years in the Ministry of Justice, from which I left six years ago," Thomaz Bastos told ISTOÉ.

The former minister also denied that he entered the Cachoeira case on political advice and did not mention fees – although there is information circulating that he charged R$ 15 million, in three monthly installments, to defend the illegal gambling operator. The Federal Police and members of the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPI) suspect the origin of Carlinhos Cachoeira's funds. The leader of the PPS party, Rubens Bueno, even questioned, during a CPI session in which Thomaz Bastos was present, where the money to pay for the defense came from, since, according to the Internal Revenue Service, the gambling operator's official income did not reach R$ 200.

It's not new for Thomaz Bastos to be involved in high-profile cases. His assistance, while still a minister, in defending then-Finance Minister Antônio Palocci in the Francenildo case involving the violation of the confidentiality of his housekeeper became famous. Bastos also advised on the defense of Delúbio Soares and Zé Dirceu in the Mensalão scandal. To this day, Thomaz Bastos is consulted by Lula, who, when president, summoned him to the Planalto Palace up to five times a day. The lawyer also provided legal support to Dilma Rousseff's presidential campaign. Due to his connection with the PT (Workers' Party) and Lula, Thomaz Bastos consolidated a broad and complex network of influence in the political sphere. All nominations to the top of the Judiciary since 2003 are attributed to the former minister, albeit indirectly. When Joaquim Barbosa was nominated to the Supreme Court, Thomaz Bastos called him in Los Angeles to inform him. The same thing happened with Dias Toffoli, a lawyer for the PT (Workers' Party), who went to the Supreme Court with the blessings of the former minister. All this influence in the Judiciary fuels speculation that the appointees would not have full autonomy. The same impression occurs within the Federal Police, an agency boosted during Bastos's administration. The team of lawyers coordinated by him is now looking for procedural flaws and errors that may have been committed by the Federal Police in Operation Monte Carlo, which arrested Cachoeira. For the leader of the PSOL (Socialism and Liberty Party) in the Chamber of Deputies, Chico Alencar (RJ), this contradiction cannot be ignored. "It is regrettable that this is being done and orchestrated by someone who headed the Federal Police and knows better than most how it works," says Alencar.