Ethics Council files lawsuit against five senators

After more than five years without analyzing cases of breach of decorum, the Council of Ethics and Parliamentary Decorum of the Senate gave progress, this Wednesday (14), to 13 requests for the opening of administrative proceedings against senators of the Republic. Of the 13 representations analyzed, six were archived involving senators Davi Alcolumbre (União-AP), Jayme Campos (União-MT), Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ), Humberto Costa (PT-PE) and Damares Alves (PRB-DF) , in addition to former Senator Paulo Rocha (PT-PA). Another six requests for opening disciplinary proceedings were accepted, two against Senator Jorge Kajuru (PSB-GO) and one against Senators Cid Gomes (PDT-CE), Chico Rodrigues (PSB-RR), Styvenson Valentim (PO-RN ) and Randolfe Rodrigues (REDE-AP). A final case against Senator Flávio Bolsonaro had its analysis postponed to the next session of the Council. Cases archived or postponed In the case of Senator Alcolumbre, former President of the Senate and current President of the Constitution and Justice Commission (CCJ), the representation was presented in 2020 by a judge from Amapá, Wilson Koressawa, as a citizen. He accused the parliamentarian of “misplacement of impeachment requests against STF ministers”. At the time, Alcolumbre was under pressure from senators and sectors of society to analyze impeachment requests from Supreme Court ministers. When archiving the case, the chairman of the Ethics Council, Senator Jayme Campos (União-MT) claimed that the author of the request did not meet the “requirement that requires the presence of just cause for the initiation of disciplinary proceedings with contemporaneity between the facts narrated and the current legislature as a condition of admissibility”. The representation filed against Flávio Bolsonaro was presented in December 2020 by former federal deputy Alexandre Frota. Frota accused Flávio of trying to interfere in the investigations of the alleged case of salary deviations of the congressman’s advisors, a practice known as cracking. For the chairman of the committee, Jayme Campos, the representation did not identify the facts that are attributed to the senator. The second representation against Senator Flávio Bolsonaro had the analysis postponed to the next session, which still does not have a date set. This is the request for the opening of the process presented by the PT, PSOL and Rede due to “their strong and long-standing connection with the militias in Rio de Janeiro”. The representation cites the relationship between the then senator and Adriano Magalhães Nóbrega, accused of leading a militia in the West Zone of Rio. The representation alleges that Adriano was honored by Flávio in the Legislative Assembly of Rio de Janeiro in 2003 and 2005. The senator denies involvement with organized crime. According to the president of the Commission, Jayme Campos, the analysis was postponed because the process received an amendment at the end of the last legislature and, therefore, “the opinion of the Advocacy General of the Senate on the request for the amendment has not yet been issued”. Another cold case was against the chairman of the Board, Jayme Campos. In September 2020, the PROS and Republicamos parties accused the Mato Grosso senator of assaulting a voter who charged the mayor of Várzea Grande, Lucimar Campos, the senator’s wife. Who rejected the complaint was Senator Otto Alencar (PSD-BA), who filed the case arguing that the process exceeded the deadline of 5 working days for preliminary examination of the admission of the complaint by the Ethics Council. Another lawsuit filed was against Senator Humberto Costa (PT-PE). He was accused of having access to court decisions before they became public. According to the representation of federal deputy José Medeiros (PL-MT), the PT commented on social networks that Lula would be returning one day before the decision that annulled the convictions of the current president of the Republic. According to the chairman of the Council, Jayme Campos, Medeiros did not meet all the requirements for opening the case. José Medeiros still represented against former Senator Paulo Rocha (PT-AP), but the case was rejected for lack of minimum requirements in the presented piece. Finally, the complaint against Senator Damares Alves (RP-DF) was archived. The PSOL representation accused the former Minister of Human Rights in the Bolsonaro government of having used “the public machine as an instrument for an ethnocidal and racist policy against Indigenous Peoples and, in particular, against the Yanomami People, expressly defending the practice of illegal mining on indigenous lands”. The complaint was rejected on the grounds that the fact mentioned was prior to the current term of office of the parliamentarian. Requests accepted The first request accepted by the Senate Ethics Council was against Senator Cid Gomes (PDT-CE) for having stated, in October 2019, that the current President of the Chamber, Deputy Arthur Lira (PP-AL), would be “ aggressor” and blackmailer. The rapporteur drawn for this case was Senator Davi Alcolumbre (União-AP). Senator Kajuru had both lawsuits against him accepted. One of them alleges that Kajuru made false conclusions about alleged cases of corruption of parliamentarians. The other accepted request points out that the Goiás senator broke parliamentary decorum by releasing a telephone recording with former president Bolsonaro. Cases against Kajuru will be reported, respectively, by senators Otto Alencar (PSD-BA) and Zenaide Maia (PSD-RN). It was admitted by the president of the Council, Jayme Campos, the representation against Senator Chico Rodrigues. The disciplinary process was motivated by the fact that the senator from Roraima was caught in a Federal Police operation with money in his underwear. Senator Renan Calheiros (MDB-AL) was drawn as rapporteur for this case. The process against the current leader of the government in Congress, Senator Randolfe Rodrigues, was also accepted. He is accused of breaking parliamentary decorum for uttering offenses against President Jair Bolsonaro, using terms such as “thief” and “genocidal”. Senator Omar Aziz (MDB-AM) will report on the case against Randolfe. Senator Styvenson Valentim was accused by then federal deputy Joice Hasselmann of offending her honor by mocking the case of violence suffered by the former parliamentarian in July 2021. According to the representation, the senator would have stated that the deputy was assaulted because she would have betrayed the partner or used drugs. The rapporteur drawn for the process against Styvenson was Senator Dr. Hiran (PP-RR). The collegiate can determine warning and censure. In cases of temporary loss of mandate or impeachment, the penalties must be approved by the plenary of the House. Collegiate The last session of the Senate Ethics Council that analyzed a case against a parliamentarian was in September 2017. The collegiate was stopped until September 2019, when a new composition was formed. However, no proceeding was carried out. With the pandemic, work was stopped until it was resumed with the installation of the new board on March 28, 2023.

Agência Brasil