Laughter at snack break, silence in chamber as Brazil’s top court faces Moraes-Vorcaro fallout

Alexandre de Moraes smiled at reporters but said nothing as Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court tried to project normality one day after details emerged about his connection to banker Daniel Vorcaro.

Moraes entered the court chamber with a confident expression. André Mendonça, seated beside him under the court’s chronological seating rules, arrived more quietly. The two justices did not greet or look at each other. Flávio Dino, seated on Mendonça’s other side and regarded as one of Moraes’s allies on the court, exchanged smiles with Moraes during the session. Mendonça continued to face forward with a serious expression.

Mendonça is the rapporteur for investigations involving Banco Master and had released a Federal Police report concerning the connection between Moraes and Vorcaro. Moraes’s allies viewed that move as a personal attack on the justice. On the same day, Prosecutor General Paulo Gonet sent the court an opinion recommending that the case be shelved. Gonet said the evidence had been collected without authorization from the full court.

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Everything was calm.

Before voting on a case involving PIS and Cofins charges, Mendonça publicly greeted Gonet. No justice made a public statement about the crisis during the session. Instead, the proceedings continued as though the situation remained under control.

During the afternoon break, laughter from the justices could be heard from the snack room next to the chamber. A person who spoke to Estadão said that “everything was calm” and that no one discussed the crisis. Moraes and Mendonça were both there, but did not greet each other away from the cameras.

The session ended at about 6 p.m. without any justice commenting on the case. Mendonça walked from the court to his office along the street, greeting staff members, although he could have taken a more private route through the garage.

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The position does not confer privilege.