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Brazil Supreme Court Weighs Probe of Justice Alexandre de Moraes

The full court is meeting to decide whether to authorize a formal investigation after Justice André Mendonça released police files that link de Moraes to jailed banker Daniel Vorcaro.

Opposition presidential candidate Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro sits on a motorcycle during a visit to a Honda motorcycle factory in the Manaus Free Trade Zone during a campaign event in Manaus, Amazonas state, Brazil, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Edmar Barros)
A vendor holds up a T-shirt that reads in Portuguese: "Impeachment now! Out with Xandao," a nickname for Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, during a protest by supporters of presidential candidate Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro calling for Moraes' impwldeachment in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
Lawyer Alex Lima, wearing a clown nose, holds a banner as he demonstrates outside Brazil's Supreme Federal Court against Justice Alexandre de Moraes, in Brasilia, Brazil, September 14, 2026. REUTERS/Adriano Machado
Boxes symbolizing money are displayed outside Congress to protest alleged corruption in the Supreme Court during a protest by supporters of presidential candidate Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro calling for the impeachment of Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

Overview

  • Chief Justice Luiz Edson Fachin convened a live full‑court plenary to consider opening a probe into de Moraes, a step required by law to investigate a sitting Supreme Court justice.
  • Justice André Mendonça unsealed a federal police report two weeks ago that showed messages from jailed banker Daniel Vorcaro to a number tied to de Moraes and court records that a law firm owned by de Moraes’s wife had a large contract with Banco Master.
  • Fachin removed Mendonça from oversight of the Banco Master case and ordered broader unsealing of court documents after Mendonça’s disclosure raised questions about procedure.
  • De Moraes denied any wrongdoing and accused Mendonça of a political vendetta, and two justices — Kassio Nunes Marques and José Dias Toffoli — abstained from voting on whether to open the investigation.
  • The dispute has escalated political tensions ahead of the October election, raised talk of Senate impeachment moves, and left the court under heightened security as unsealed records and further hearings continue to unfold.