President Temer Sets Out Offensive Against Second Charge by Prosecutor General

08/08/2017 - 10h33

President Michel Temer has started to define a strategy intended to weaken the charge of obstruction of justice that is expected to be presented against him by Rodrigo Janot, the Prosecutor General.

He has meet with members of his defense team, and Folha has learned that he also discussed the subject with Federal Supreme Court (STF) Justice Gilmar Mendes in a dinner on Sunday (the 6th) which wasn't registered on the President's official schedule.

The subject that officially was on the table was political reform, but the actions of the chief of the Prosecutor General's Office was the real subject under discussion.

According to people close to the discussions, the PMDB Party leader's intention is to discredit Janot's motives, accusing him of "political persecution", and to prevent Temer's name from being included in the so-called "quadrilhão" (gang) investigation, which is looking into PMDB Party members.

The President's lawyers have already requested that Justice Edson Fachin veto Temer's inclusion in the investigation.

Their opinion is that this could result in an internal interlocutory appeal before the full Supreme Court in the case that the decision was unfavorable to Temer.

ATTACKS

Temer will intensify the clash with the Prosecutor General and reinforce his allegation that the charge is "politically contaminated", using the words of one of his aides.

The official discourse of congressmen and senators from the allied base will be that the chief of the Prosecutor General's Office is persecuting the President and that he is acting hastily due to the imminent end of his term.

In public speeches, Temer plans to re-emphasize the idea, indirectly, that the Prosecutor General's objective is to damage the country and undermine economic growth.

Translated by LLOYD HARDER

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	Evaristo Sá/AFP
	Brazilian President Michel Temer attends a ceremony at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia