Brazil's Supreme Court builds unprecedented cohesion against Bolsonaro's attacks.

BRASILIA (Reuters) - The increasing attacks by President Jair Bolsonaro and his allies inside and outside the government on the actions of ministers of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) have led the court to unite to shield itself from attacks, in a rare and recent alignment after divisions into factions in recent years, but there is an expectation behind the scenes that an attempt will be made to de-escalate tensions in relations with the Presidential Palace, sources from the court told Reuters.

The already high temperature of the clash between the Presidential Palace and the Supreme Court rose the day before with the search and seizure operation carried out by the Federal Police, ordered by Minister Alexandre de Moraes, against supporters of the president for alleged involvement in a scheme to spread fake news.

After meeting with ministers, Bolsonaro personally orchestrated a reaction. It fell to the Minister of Justice, André Mendonça, to file a habeas corpus petition with the Supreme Court to suspend the deposition of the Minister of Education, Abraham Weintraub, ordered by Moraes in the fake news inquiry.

Weintraub will have to explain his statement that he would put "vagabonds" in jail, starting with the Supreme Federal Court (STF), made during a ministerial meeting on April 22nd and revealed after STF Justice Celso de Mello ordered the release of virtually the entire video of the meeting.

“The responsibility for what has become public does not lie with any minister (of the government). It lies with Minister Celso de Mello. He is responsible. I beg you, for God's sake, do not proceed with this type of investigation,” Bolsonaro told reporters this morning at the Alvorada Palace, referring to Moraes' decision to summon Weintraub. At another point, regarding the Federal Police operation against allies, he said that “absurd orders are not to be obeyed.”

SELF-PRESERVATION

According to three sources, the approach within the Supreme Court, even with attacks directed at the senior justice Celso de Mello and Alexandre de Moraes, is to handle the criticism in an institutional manner.

In recent years, the court has been divided—due to matters related to Operation Lava Jato—between those who prioritize due process and those who prioritize legality in certain criminal matters.

Now, there has been a feeling of self-preservation. On Wednesday, at the beginning of the afternoon session, the Supreme Court gave a demonstration of this when acting president Luiz Fux, in a statement, affirmed that there is no democracy without respect for institutions and offered a rebuke to the senior justice—yet another of the many he has received recently.

According to one source, Celso de Mello—who has been on the Supreme Court for 30 years, since the presidency of José Sarney—has never experienced a situation like this. "Bolsonaro wants to play to his electorate," the source said, downplaying the effects of this pressure from the president on the court's most senior member.

The source emphasized that any failure to comply with a court order could lead to an impeachment request against the president. It is better to comply with the ruling, even if one disagrees with it, the source warned.

A Supreme Court justice said, privately, that what cannot happen are ambiguous or criminal actions.

"If nothing is found during the search and seizure, the material will be returned and that's it," he said. Now, if it is found that there was an illegal push for fake news on the internet, financed by businesspeople, the situation will be problematic.

Another source even acknowledges questioning the so-called fake news inquiry for not being overseen by the Attorney General's Office, but believes it has legal backing and aims to prevent attacks on the Supreme Federal Court.

Nevertheless, sources expect a relaxation of tensions, although they caution that this may depend on the progress of the investigations against the president and his allies being conducted by the Supreme Court.

The minister, speaking to Reuters, noted that the fake news investigation eventually reached supporters of the president, but each one must answer personally in the case.

According to this Supreme Court justice, these issues should not be brought into the heart of the government. For example, Weintraub should not be defended by the Minister of Justice, but rather privately.

BRIDGE

In this delicate chess game, the president of the Supreme Court, Dias Toffoli—who is currently on leave for health reasons—is seen as an important piece in easing tensions, said a third source. He is one of the last remaining bridges to the Presidential Palace currently within the Supreme Court.

"Toffoli needs to safeguard institutional integrity," this source emphasized.

None of the sources believe that any threats to close the court or punish its members for their actions are likely to succeed.

"In the global socio-political-economic scenario, it is impossible for the largest economy in Latin America to suffer a coup," said one of the sources, emphasizing that this would send the economy plummeting. According to him, the Armed Forces have always adopted a prudent stance and he sees no anti-democratic actions by military personnel with seats in the Presidential Palace.

However, a concern shared by the sources is that this belligerent climate could lead to security difficulties for the minister and his family. One source warned that in this environment, someone could do something to compromise the physical integrity of a Supreme Court authority.