The Ethics Committee of the Presidency reopens the Palocci case.
The interim president of the Commission, Roberto Caldas, said that the Attorney General's position does not affect his own. "The ethical sphere and the legal sphere do not necessarily have to communicate," he said.
The Public Ethics Commission reopened yesterday the discussion regarding the case of the Chief of Staff, Antonio Palocci, whose assets increased 20 times in the last four years and whose consulting firm received a large part of the funds, according to the allegations, after the election of President Dilma Rousseff, when he was already working as one of her main aides. The interim president of the Commission, Roberto Caldas, did not want to confirm the opening of a new procedure, which was closed on May 16, claiming that "at this moment we cannot say whether there is an opening of a procedure against any minister".
According to him, "the opening of proceedings is always confidential." He added: "When there is an opening, it is done to protect the individual who can still defend themselves in the ethics proceedings. It's the same thing in ethics proceedings before the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB)." The advisor informed, however, that for the next meeting on July 1st, he himself will bring to the Ethics Committee for discussion the fact that Minister Palocci does not reveal his agenda, which is recommended to all authorities to guarantee transparency.
Roberto Caldas further stated that the Attorney General's decision not to open an investigation against Palocci does not affect the Ethics Committee's positions "in absolutely no way." "The ethical sphere and the legal sphere do not necessarily have any connection," he explained.