Federal Public Prosecutor's Office requests dismissal of investigation against Renan
Because he did not put into practice his alleged plan to obstruct Operation Lava Jato, Senator Renan Calheiros (PMDB-AL) should not be convicted; this is the opinion of the Attorney General of the Republic, Rodrigo Janot, who, through an opinion, asked the Supreme Federal Court to dismiss the investigation against the congressman; the basis of the accusations was the series of recordings made by Sergio Machado, former president of Transpetro; he recorded conversations with Calheiros, and also with Senator Romero Jucá (PMDB-RR) and former President José Sarney.
Do Conjur - Because he did not put into practice his alleged plan to obstruct Operation Lava Jato, Senator Renan Calheiros (PMDB-AL) should not be convicted. This is the opinion of the Attorney General of the Republic, Rodrigo Janot, who, through an opinion, asked the Supreme Federal Court to dismiss the investigation against the congressman.
The basis for the accusations was a series of recordings made by Sergio Machado, former president of Transpetro. He recorded conversations with Calheiros, as well as with Senator Romero Jucá (PMDB-RR) and former President José Sarney.
The request for dismissal was made to Minister Edson Fachin, rapporteur of the "Lava Jato" case at the Supreme Court. The judge's analysis will be a mere formality, since the Supreme Court's jurisprudence establishes that in criminal proceedings of original jurisdiction where members of the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office act by delegation of the Attorney General of the Republic, the judge cannot decide to continue the investigations if the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office has requested their dismissal.
It remained on paper.
According to the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office (MPF), the recordings demonstrate that there was a plan to obstruct the "Lava Jato" investigations and that the facts are of "undeniable gravity." According to Janot, if the recordings had not been released, the plan would have been carried out.
"However, unlike other legal systems (such as the American one, which provides for the crime of conspiracy), such acts are not criminally punishable. In fact, there was no concrete act committed beyond the outward expression of the criminal plan. Thus, there is no question of attempted crime, as the iter criminis stopped at the so-called planning phase."
According to Luis Henrique Machado, Renan Calheiros' lawyer, the request for dismissal shows that there is a strategy to try to damage the senator's public image by opening investigations.
"It is evident that the Senator is suffering illegal duress from investigations opened without adhering to minimum legal criteria, devoid of evidence or any indication that justifies their initiation. Requesting the opening of investigations without just cause, solely for the purpose of discrediting the Senator in the eyes of public opinion, is the most abominable way to conduct criminal proceedings. Unfortunately, this has been happening," said Henrique Machado.
Laws designed to hinder
According to the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office, Machado and the PMDB leadership planned to obstruct "Lava Jato" by passing laws, one of which would revoke the Supreme Court's decision allowing imprisonment after a second-instance trial. Another measure would be to convene a constituent assembly to review and reduce the powers of the Public Prosecutor's Office.