Cardozo responds to PSDB: "I refuse to be a cover-up artist"
In response to the PSDB leadership, which today demanded his resignation, the Minister of Justice spoke harshly; "The era of the general file-away is over," he said, justifying the sending of complaints against PSDB members to the Federal Police, on suspicion of involvement in a cartel in the São Paulo train and subway contract with Alstom and Siemens; the statement comes in handy after São Paulo prosecutor Rodrigo de Grandis shelved a request for cooperation from the Swiss Justice system in the case for two years and eight months; in response to the PSDB's assertion that they are different from the PT members, Cardozo states: "Everyone is equal before the law"; the complaint cites Aloysio Nunes, José Aníbal, Edson Aparecido and Arnaldo Jardim, from the PPS, but linked to PSDB members.
247 - The Minister of Justice, José Eduardo Cardozo, spoke harshly on Tuesday afternoon, the 26th, in response to the PSDB leadership, which had demanded his resignation (read more). here(due to the cartel allegations involving important figures in the party that he presented to the Federal Police. "The era of being a general file-away-er is over. I refuse to be a general file-away-er of complaints. The complaints that reach my hands will always be forwarded to the Federal Police for an impartial investigation," said Cardozo.)
The statement comes about a month after federal prosecutor Rodrigo de Grandis was accused of shelving a request for cooperation from Swiss prosecutors in the Siemens case. According to De Grandis, who said the document was stored in the wrong drawer and therefore improperly archived, there was an "administrative failure" at the São Paulo Prosecutor's Office. The request remained unknown to the agency for two years and eight months.
According to Cardozo, his role as Minister of Justice is limited to requesting the investigation, which will be coordinated by a police delegate. Earlier, members of the PSDB party stated that he was not qualified to lead the investigations. "The president of the PSDB said that the Minister of Justice is not qualified to coordinate and lead the investigations. That's the job of the police delegate. There's a slight legal misunderstanding; my power is limited to requesting an investigation, which is conducted with complete autonomy," he said.
The Minister of Justice also lamented that the alleged scheme involving multinational corporations and PSDB governments in São Paulo had turned into a political dispute. "I think it's very bad that investigations are being transformed into political disputes, into saying 'not with us, that we are different'. Everyone is equal before the law," he retorted. Aécio Neves also said earlier that the PSDB members were different from the PT members, in a reference to the 'mensalão' scandal.
"If there are accusations, regardless of who they are against, the minister must request an investigation. Otherwise, it is prevarication," stated Cardozo. The complaint filed by the Minister of Justice with the Federal Police mentions the names of Senator Aloysio Nunes (PSDB-SP), Energy Secretary José Aníbal (PSDB-SP), the licensed deputy and current Chief of Staff of the São Paulo state government, Edson Aparecido, and federal deputy Arnaldo Jardim (PPS), who is linked to members of the PSDB party.