Frustrated by Jair Bolsonaro and the Senate Covid CPI Rapporteur, Renan Calleiros (MDB-AL) this Monday defended Augusto Aras’ re-appointment as head of the Attorney General’s Office (PGR). The president’s ally, Aras, will be attending Tuesday’s morning hearings at the Senate Constitution and Justice Committee (CCJ) to try to renew his term for another two years in a position he has held since 2019.

Calleiros said that Aras, the target of criticism in the Federal Attorney’s Office (FPM) for his inertia with the federal government’s inspection, will have the “opportunity” to change his attitude eventually in a second term. The PGR was even demanded by the ministers of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), who recently pointed to excessive delay and lack of response to important investigations.

Calliros’ statement was made in an interview with journalist Flavia Oliveira, columnist for GLOBO, during the 16th International Congress of the Brazilian Association for Investigative Journalism (Abraji). The event is being held virtually due to the pandemic.

“I tend to vote for (reappointment). I think that under some circumstances, of course, he (Aras) left a lot to be desired, but this second term, reappointment, is an opportunity for him to re-do it all.” The role of the hearing will be very important, ”said the senator.

Calheiros has already said that he voted to approve Aras in 2019, when, he said, “discussion prevailed over the necessary dismantling of the police state that had taken over Brazil,” referring to the political activities of Operation Lava. Yato. This time, the GRR is considered an ally of the president, who, in turn, views Calleiros as an enemy.

The senator suggested that the fate of Covid’s CPI final report, under his responsibility and aimed at holding Bolsonara responsible for managing the pandemic, will make a difference in the hearings Aras will face in the Senate. According to him, the commission should complete its work in the next 30 days, and then send it to the Federal Prosecutor’s Office.

“We are going to send a report to the General Prosecutor’s Office. We carry out investigations with great responsibility and with great impartiality, but we need to know from an institutional point of view what direction the Attorney General will take, ”he said.

The Senate should also be the arena for yet another meeting of interests in the Palacio do Planalto. Bolsonaro nominated for a vacancy at STF, opened with the retirement of Marco Aurelio de Mello, André Mendonça is facing resistance from the House of Representatives following Bolsonaro’s attacks on democratic institutions and coup claims. Last Friday, the president sent a Senate impeachment request to Supreme Minister Alexandru de Moraes, prompting a strong reaction from the political community.

Calleiros says he sees “great difficulty” in Mendonza’s approval, “especially after (Bolsonaro’s) confrontation with the Supreme Court and some of its ministers, from a personal point of view.” The senator said he is betting that the hearing will not even take place – a signal that will also come from Senator Davi Alcolumbre (DEM-AP), president of the CCJ.

“The President of the Republic, who despises institutions, is betting on a crisis between the Powers, is filing an impeachment against the Supreme Minister in the Senate, obviously he is not exempt from this when he appoints a minister (Mendonce) whom Congress does not know,” he said. …