André Mendonça records video thanking supporters for their ‘prayers to God’

Supreme Federal Court Justice André Mendonça turned to a video message to thank supporters whose prayers, he said, had helped sustain him and his family.

“My brothers and sisters, I mainly want to thank you for your messages of prayer and affection. Be assured that your prayers to God have been fundamental in sustaining me and my family,” Mendonça said. He added that he praised God for their lives and thanked them for their generosity and solidarity.

The message came after Justice Alexandre de Moraes opened an investigation against Mendonça within the fake-news inquiry. The two justices are engaged in an internal dispute at the court.

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My brothers and sisters, I mainly want to thank you for your messages of prayer and affection. Be assured that your prayers to God have been fundamental in sustaining me and my family.

Court President Edson Fachin took over the case after Mendonça removed the secrecy from a Federal Police report detailing ties between Moraes’s family and banker Daniel Vorcaro, who is accused of a 12 billion reais fraud against Brazil’s financial system. The report says Moraes himself edited a draft of a 129 million reais contract between his wife’s law firm, run by lawyer Viviane Barci de Moraes, and Banco Master.

The document also says Vorcaro asked Moraes whether he should flee Brazil shortly before his arrest and sought help from Federal Police Director-General Andrei Rodrigues and Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet. The report further states that the law firm received an airplane and a helicopter as payment under a 50 million reais contract with a company linked to the banker, while Vorcaro issued credit cards with limits of 300,000 reais for the couple’s children. Mendonça ended his video by asking God to bless his supporters and Brazil.

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I praise God for your lives, grateful for the generosity and solidarity I have received. May God bless you, and may God bless our country.