Wagner denies bribery and responds to whistleblower: 'It's turned into a mess'
Former Bahia governor Jaques Wagner denies the accusations made by former Odebrecht director Cláudio Filho, who testified that he received bribes from the construction company during his 2010 reelection campaign. Identified by the codename 'Polo', Wagner refutes the accuser and contests the leak of the testimonies. "People will say what they know and what they don't know. This should have been kept confidential, investigated, and released to the press only after the investigation had been completed. This kind of free-for-all is unacceptable. The official documents were leaked, and it became a complete mess. Everyone campaigns and receives money from businessmen. What the Public Prosecutor's Office should do is say: 'So-and-so's money is the result of fraud'," said Wagner.
Bahia 247 - Former Bahia governor Jaques Wagner denies the accusations made by former Odebrecht director Cláudio Filho, who, in testimony related to Operation Lava Jato, accused him of receiving bribes from the construction company during his 2010 reelection campaign.
Identified by the codename 'Polo', Wagner denies the informant's claims and disputes the leak of the testimonies.
"People will say what they know and what they don't know. This should have been kept confidential, investigated, and only released to the press after the investigation was complete. This kind of free-for-all is unacceptable. Official documents were leaked, and it turned into a mess. They're throwing this at the population, and everyone's just celebrating. The common belief is that all politicians are thieves. I don't have any off-the-books accounts, I live off my salary, I don't have a consulting firm. In the countryside, people withdraw money when someone is out in public. What do people want, a complete end to politics? A return to the military dictatorship? That's the worst of all worlds," Wagner said in an interview with Metrópole radio.
Executive coordinator of the Economic and Social Development Council of Bahia, Jaques Wagner (PT) reiterated his support for a "broad political reform," and said that "everyone receives donations from businessmen," but cautioned that it is necessary for the Justice system to distinguish between legal donations and bribes.
"I ran my campaigns by forcing everything to be official. Everyone campaigns and receives money from businessmen. What the Public Prosecutor's Office should do is say: 'so-and-so's money is the result of fraud'. When I was a congressman for the PT (Workers' Party), the PFL (currently Democrats) was in charge. The guy would say: 'I want to help you, but I don't want to be in the spotlight'. Here, the guy would pay a bill. What interest would I have in receiving money under the table? I am in favor of public financing, I am against private financing. Obviously, there is money from direct corruption, if that is proven, fine," said the former Chief of Staff of Dilma Rousseff.
Wagner reiterated that he is not worried about his name being mentioned by the Odebrecht whistleblower. "I'm comfortable with the accusations against me because they were all profits for Bahia. I cited the BASF case; it generated thousands of jobs for Bahia. The Public Prosecutor's Office and the Federal Police have to explain. You don't know the origin of the company's money. Otherwise, you're leveling everyone down. We need political reform; it will improve things. When we have six or seven parties, it will improve. When there's public funding, things will become more transparent. The only benefit is political reform. The president who came in already has a 52% disapproval rating."