Flávio Bolsonaro calls Mendonça meeting a smokescreen and labels Moraes a ‘rotten orange’

Flávio Bolsonaro called the disclosure of a meeting between banker Daniel Vorcaro and Supreme Federal Court Justice André Mendonça a “smokescreen,” arguing that it was diverting attention from revelations involving Vorcaro and Justice Alexandre de Moraes.

Speaking at the Expointer agricultural fair in Esteio, in Rio Grande do Sul, the presidential candidate said Mendonça’s meeting had taken place when the justice was not yet the rapporteur in the case and concerned a specific matter recorded in his official agenda. Bolsonaro said that made it fundamentally different from Vorcaro’s contacts with Moraes.

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It is impossible to try to launch a smokescreen like this against Justice André Mendonça.

Bolsonaro again demanded that Moraes leave the Supreme Court, calling him a “rotten orange.” He said the court should be defended as an institution, but argued that Moraes’s departure was necessary for it to restore its credibility. Bolsonaro also claimed that the messages showed Moraes had committed several crimes and had used his authority to protect Vorcaro.

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We can no longer allow one rotten orange to contaminate all the oranges, and we must defend the Supreme Federal Court unequivocally. For the Supreme Court to restore its credibility, Moraes has to leave.

He said the Liberal Party would seek the removal of Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet and Federal Police Director-General Andrei Rodrigues, who were also mentioned in the messages. Bolsonaro did not refer during the news conference to his own interactions with Vorcaro concerning financing for “Dark Horse,” a biographical film about his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro.

After visiting the agricultural fair, Flávio Bolsonaro was scheduled to hold a rally in Porto Alegre. He met representatives of the Rio Grande do Sul Agriculture Federation, attended a lunch with agribusiness leaders and walked with political allies. Supporters applauded his arrival and called for the arrest of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Moraes. He was also awarded the Farroupilha Merit Medal, the highest honor of the Rio Grande do Sul Legislative Assembly.

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someone who clearly used his authority to provide a kind of protection to Vorcaro