Moraes tries to change STF agenda to investigate Mendonça

Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of Supremo Tribunal Federal (STF), requested the president of the Court, Edson Fachin, that the actions against Minister André Mendonça be tried simultaneously with the investigation involving Moraes himself with banker Daniel Vorcaro. The request comes before the trial scheduled for next Tuesday (15) and seeks to reverse the focus of the plenary, annulling evidence obtained in mobile messages.

According to the report, Moraes wants the plenary to first analyze the conduct of his colleague and accuser, André Mendonça, before debating any material evidence against him. The central idea is to focus on the legality of the investigative acts of Mendonça, transforming the accuser into a target of technical analysis.

In doing so, Moraes tries to reduce the pressure on his relationship with banker Daniel Vorcaro. This legal tactic can pave the way for the postponement of the trial or for the case to be sent to the Attorney General of the Republic.

Defense strategy aims to nullify evidence

Moraes' defense bets on the so-called "doctrine of poisoned fruits", a legal concept that determines that, if the origin of a proof is illegal, everything that derives from it must be annulled. The minister alleges that there was evidence contamination and a break in the chain of custody.

For Moraes, selective disclosure of messages corrupts parity in the process. He compares the display of isolated excerpts of dialogue taken from a seized cell phone to showing frozen frames of a film, suggesting crimes where, according to him, there would be a distinct dynamic if the whole context were revealed.

Experts, however, note that the comparison is difficult, because the evidence against Moraes appeared unexpectedly in the analysis of Vorcaro's cell phone, and not from an investigation that had the minister as an initial or declared target.

Legal mirrors set on STF

There is a legal mirror game where Moraes points to a "symmetry in the extrapolation of functions". While Moraes is suspected of favoring a banker in millionaire contracts to protect him from police actions, he counters by claiming that André Mendonça would have conducted investigations without the proper authorization of the Supreme Plenary.

Moraes’s request for the actions against Mendonça to be tried in conjunction with the investigation into Vorcaro is seen as an attempt to create a procedural counterpoint. The defense seeks to annul the evidence obtained on the banker’s cell phone, arguing that the way they were collected and disclosed violates legal guarantees.

If the plenary accepts the thesis, the trial can be postponed or the case sent to the Attorney General of the Republic, which would give more time for the defense of Moraes. The source did not detail what the immediate impact would be on the STF's schedule.

Next steps and impact on trial

The trial is scheduled for next Tuesday (15), but Moraes’ request may change the order of work. The decision rests with President Edson Fachin, who has not yet made a public statement about the request.

The case involves the suspicion that Moraes favored banker Daniel Vorcaro in millionaire contracts, protecting him from police actions. The messages found on Vorcaro's cell phone are the main evidence against the minister.

Moraes’ defense insists that the selective disclosure of the messages corrupts parity in the process and that the chain of custody has been broken. The Court will have to decide whether to accept the thesis of the poisoned fruits or whether to maintain the trial according to the original agenda.

The outcome may influence not only Moraes’s case, but also the way STF handles investigations involving its own ministers. The source did not detail whether there will be a separate vote on Moraes’s request or whether the issue will be discussed directly in Tuesday’s trial.

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