In his testimony to the Federal Police, Jorginho Mello denies having witnessed a conversation between Bolsonaro and Valdemar.
The governor of Santa Catarina was summoned to explain statements suggesting contact between the former governor and the leader of the PL party, both under investigation by the Supreme Federal Court.
247 - The governor of Santa Catarina, Jorginho Mello (PL), testified to the Federal Police this Wednesday (5), in Florianópolis, to clarify statements he made about a possible communication between Jair Bolsonaro (PL) and the national leader of the PL, Valdemar Costa Neto. The testimony was ordered by Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the Supreme Federal Court (STF), due to an investigation that is looking into whether the politicians were involved in an alleged coup d'état plan. Contact between Bolsonaro and Costa Neto is prohibited by court order.
According to the newspaper The GlobeIn his testimony, Mello denied witnessing any conversation between Bolsonaro and Valdemar Costa Neto, despite suggesting in an interview with Jovem Pan that the two "talk quite a lot." He also stated that the treatment he received from the Federal Police was respectful and that he was not under investigation, a claim reiterated by his aides. The state government, however, chose not to officially comment on the case.
Mello's statement generated an immediate reaction from Jair Bolsonaro, who classified the governor's comment as a "slip-up." "In the same interview, he said he regrets that I don't talk to Valdemar and says that I have been talking to Valdemar a lot. That's not true, it was a Freudian slip on his part," declared the former president in a press conference on the subject.
At another point in the interview, Jorginho Mello had explained that Valdemar Costa Neto was "bitter" about Moraes' decision to impose social distancing between him and Bolsonaro. According to the governor, the two politicians maintained a physical distance of more than 200 meters when they were at the PL's national headquarters in Brasília, avoiding any interaction.
The Santa Catarina state government, following the repercussions of the episode, stated that both Bolsonaro and Valdemar are complying with the court decision, although they consider the measure unfair, according to a statement by the governor himself.
Mello's testimony is part of the investigation into the possible links and actions of those involved in the investigations conducted by the Supreme Federal Court.
