Moro sues bloggers for 'false and slanderous' news.

By Counsel - Federal judge Sergio Moro, responsible for the "Lava Jato" operation cases, filed a complaint with the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office in Paraná against two journalists for crimes against the honor of a public servant in the exercise of their duties (in this case, Moro himself). The judge claims that false and slanderous news was published by Fabiano Portilho, from Portal I9, and Miguel Baia Bargas, from the blog Limpinho & Cheiroso, according to information from the blog itself.

In the document, Moro states that, since the beginning of "Lava Jato," numerous news reports have been published about the case, with "a predominantly favorable approach to the work carried out." The judge says he believes that freedom of the press and freedom of expression are "fundamental" to the exercise of democracy, even when they include harsh and unfair criticism of public authorities.

However, he points out that "mainly on some internet blogs of dubious reputation, false, slanderous, defamatory and injurious information regarding the Applicant has been sporadically disseminated." According to Moro, the fake news may be an isolated action or eventually something larger, aimed at affecting the conduct of judicial proceedings.

According to Moro, the I9 Portal aims to incriminate people close to him, such as his wife, Rosângela Wolff Moro, or the lawyer with whom he worked before entering the judiciary. The idea behind this would be to suggest that the judge "would either be prevaricating, a crime under article 319 of the Penal Code, since the judicial acts were motivated by partisan political interests, or would be associated with criminals, a crime under article 288 of the Penal Code."

One of the news items he claims is false, published in December 2014 and authored by Portilho, is that Rosângela was a legal advisor to Flávio José Arns, a member of the PSDB party and then vice-governor of Paraná. According to the judge, this connection was made to give the impression that he promotes leaks of information, but only when the testimonies mention someone from the PT or PMDB parties. However, he maintains that his wife never defended Arns, only represented him at an event because she was a lawyer for the Association of Parents and Friends of Exceptional Children (Apae).

In the same text, the journalist states that Rosângela allegedly has ties to Shell, suggesting that Moro's actions in "Lava Jato" aimed to weaken Petrobras for the benefit of the Anglo-Dutch oil company. In his statement, the judge asserts that his wife never worked as a lawyer for this multinational, and that her participation in the Zucolotto Advogados Associados law firm is solely for the purpose of sharing fees, not guaranteeing that she worked directly for all of the firm's clients.

Moro argues to the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office that Portal I9 published yet another lie about Rosângela when it accused her of committing bankruptcy crimes. This is because "her involvement" in any crime of this type was "never even considered."

Another piece of fake news, again authored by Portilho, claims that a lawyer, a former colleague of the federal judge, was involved in the embezzlement of R$ 500 million from the Maringá City Hall (PR). The text indicates that the prosecutor was arrested for this, and that he was only released after Moro testified in his favor.

This report was reproduced by Limpinho & Cheiroso with the title "Paraná: When Moro worked for PSDB, he helped divert R$ 500 million from the Maringá City Hall". In the judge's view, this approach went "even further", classifying him as responsible for the alleged crime.

All of this shows that Portilho and Bargas acted in bad faith, says the federal judge: “I emphasize that, in all these cases, in addition to the blatant falsehood of the news, none of which has any basis in reality or any evidence, the malice and intent of those involved is evidenced by the fact that, for none of them, was there any concern, before the publication of the articles, to consult those involved, which is basic in journalism practiced with a minimum of professionalism and seriousness.”

Moro says that he, his wife, and his former colleague were victims of "slanderous, defamatory, and injurious facts" published on websites of "dubious reputation." Because he was the target of these crimes against honor due to his work in "Lava Jato," the judge is asking the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office to take the necessary steps to criminally prosecute Portilho and Bargas. However, he makes it clear that he does not want "any censorship or banning of the articles" as he is against such measures.

Bargas, from Limpinho & Cheiroso, was summoned to provide clarifications about the case last Wednesday (August 26th), in São Paulo (SP).

dirty record

Portilho, from Portal I9, has a history of criminal charges. The journalist was convicted of attempted fraud in 2014 by the Court of Justice of Mato Grosso do Sul. According to the court, he assured the victims that he would insert advertisements in a news newspaper, but he did not do so, even after receiving R$ 900. The sentence was extinguished due to the statute of limitations.

According to the Diário do Estado newspaper, Portilho was indicted in February by the Civil Police of Mato Grosso do Sul for offending the honor of journalist Derick Willi Fernandes and for falsifying documents for a car that was not his in order to report its theft. The newspaper also reports that the owner of Portal I9 is ​​being investigated for faking a kidnapping and giving false testimony to a clerk.