Bolsonaro Asks Moraes to Reinstate Aides Investigated in Vaccine Fraud Case

Jair Bolsonaro's defense has asked Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes to allow two former aides to return to the former president's advisory team.

The request concerns Sérgio Rocha Cordeiro and Max Guilherme Machado de Moura, who served as Bolsonaro's assistants during and after his presidency. They were removed after becoming suspects in an investigation into the insertion of false COVID-19 vaccination records.

Their lawyers argue that the restrictions are no longer justified because Brazil's Federal Public Prosecutor's Office requested in June that the investigation against the two men be closed. According to the defense, prosecutors said there was no minimum evidence identifying them as responsible and no proof that they had deliberately taken part in the irregularities.

Cordeiro and Moura were held in preventive detention for four months in 2023 over suspicions that they were involved in the scheme. The defense says they could resume advisory duties while complying with restrictions that remain in force.

If Moraes approves the request, Bolsonaro's team would have six members.