Moraes was the first member of a five-justice panel to begin public deliberations on Tuesday. He said the alleged crimes involved had already been recognized by the high court in prior rulings and the current task is to identify those responsible.
“There is no doubt … there was an attempt to abolish the democratic rule of law, that there was an attempted coup, and that there was a criminal organization that caused damage to public property,” Moraes said.
The role of Moraes in the case has made him a target of Bolsonaro’s allies, including US President Donald Trump and his administration, which imposed sanctions on the judge and levied 50 percent tariffs on many Brazilian imports to the US for what Trump called a “witch hunt” against the former Brazilian president.
Following Moraes, Justice Flavio Dino, Lula’s former justice minister, is expected to vote. He will be followed by his peers Luiz Fux, Carmen Lucia, and Cristiano Zanin, a former attorney for Lula who presides over the panel. Two Supreme Court justices appointed by Bolsonaro are not on the panel.
A verdict is expected by the end of the week. If convicted, Bolsonaro faces a potential sentence of more than 40 years, though the country’s maximum allowable prison term is capped at 40 years.
Even if convicted, Bolsonaro could avoid his full sentence. Already barred from running for office until 2030, his supporters hope a future president might grant him a pardon.
Sao Paulo Governor Tarcisio de Freitas, who served in Bolsonaro’s cabinet, pushed Congress last week to grant the ex-president amnesty, a move many saw as positioning the governor as an heir to Bolsonaro’s coalition in next year’s election.
