The Brazilian Bar Association (OAB) criticizes the Attorney General's decision.

The Brazilian Bar Association (OAB) today criticized, in a statement released on its website, the decision by the Attorney General's Office (PGR) to shelve the case against the Chief of Staff, Antonio Palocci, regarding whom doubts surround the evolution of his assets. In the statement, the president of the OAB, Ophir Cavalcante, affirms that "no one was attributing blame to anyone. What society expected was an investigation into the situation involving Minister Palocci by the Brazilian State, represented here by those who can do so, which is the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office."

According to the national president of the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB), the decision by Attorney General Roberto Gurgel conveys to society "the impression that a license for impunity has been given in this country." The prevailing feeling is one of frustration and disappointment, he explained, because the Brazilian society has been denied the right to an investigation into the assets of one of the most important public figures in the Republic, according to Cavalcante.

"This decision by the Attorney General's Office to opt for dismissal may serve as a definitive reason for the minister to leave office. If there was a lack of greater motivation beyond the political and moral ones that already existed, this legal one justifies his departure from office at this time," he concluded.