Justice Alexandre de Moraes of the STF (Supreme Federal Court) stated in a decision that the inquiry opened to investigate the case of messages between his aides at the court and the TSE (Superior Electoral Court) is probing the possible criminal origin of the leak and mentions the São Paulo Civil Police.

The decision was signed this Wednesday (21) and also authorizes the defense of his former TSE aide Eduardo Tagliaferro to access the investigation records. The justice allows the Federal Police to provide copies of the evidence already documented in the inquiry.

The investigation was opened under secrecy after Folha revealed that the minister's office at the Supreme Court had ordered reports from the TSE through unofficial messages to support Moraes' decisions against Bolsonaro supporters in the court's 2022 fake news inquiry.

As part of the investigation, the Federal Police summoned Eduardo Tagliaferro, former head of the TSE's AEED (Special Advisory for Combating Disinformation), to testify this Thursday in São Paulo. In the ruling, Moraes stated that the investigation concerns a "possible criminal origin of conversations via the WhatsApp application between staff from the Supreme Federal Court and the Superior Electoral Court."