Brazilian Police Request Top Court to Call Bolsonaro to Testify

Brazil’s Federal Police (PF) asked Friday for the Supreme Federal Court to summon President Jair Bolsonaro to declare about allegations of political interference in the affairs of the institution.

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"Bolsonaro's statement is necessary" for "the proper course of the investigation," the PF argues, regarding former Minister of Justice Sergio Moro’s accusation that the president tried to interfere with the work of the PF and in investigations related to legal proceedings against his sons.

According to Moro's accusation, the president's "political interference" was "explicit" at a ministerial meeting on April 22, days before he resigned from his high position in the government.

In addition to Bolsonaro's statement, the police consider that a "proof of edition of the video files" and an "analysis of the mobile phone messages" between Moro and the president should be carried out. 

The request to the highest court of law also includes a proposal that the investigations of the case, opened in April, be extended for a period of more than thirty days.

The investigation against Bolsonaro is a new impasse between the president and the Supreme Court, which has annulled or moderated several government initiatives, including one aimed at completely freeing the sale of weapons to civilians.

And as Bolsonaro’s relationship with legislators and the courts continue to downgrade, he has become increasingly dependent on staffing his government with the active or former military. 

Meanwhile, left-wing parties have filed a formal request to impeach the head of state.