TSE Decides to Clear Moro of Impeachment

247 - The Superior Electoral Court (TSE) decided on Tuesday (21) to maintain the mandate of the former judge and now senator, Sergio Moro.

The majority was achieved with the vote of Minister Nunes Marques, who followed the rapporteur Floriano de Azevedo Marques, raising the score to 4-0 in favor of Moro. André Ramos Tavares, Cármen Lúcia, Raul Araújo Filho, and Maria Isabel Diniz Gallotti Rodrigues also voted in this direction.

Finally, Minister Alexandre de Moraes presented his vote, agreeing with the rapporteur. "It is undeniable that Moro's condition was already privileged. This is a significant differential. But for the annulment of registration and declaration of ineligibility, the Electoral Justice requires concrete evidence. These are serious acts that remove people from mandates granted by the electorate and from political life itself," he said.

The rapporteur of the appeals, Minister Floriano de Azevedo Marques, voted against accepting the requests and for maintaining the mandate of the parliamentarian.

In his vote on Tuesday (21), he cited the lack of parameters to establish the alleged abusiveness of Sergio Moro's expenses during the 2022 electoral campaign.

The TSE plenary began judging last Thursday (16) the appeals from the PT and PL parties requesting the annulment of Moro's mandate. The trial resumed this Tuesday. Last month, the Regional Electoral Court of Paraná (TRE-PR) rejected the senator's annulment by a majority of 5 to 2.

Moro was accused by the parties of spending excessive resources when he was a pre-candidate for the Presidency of the Republic with the Podemos party and later a pre-candidate for the Senate in São Paulo with the União Brasil party. The former judge eventually ran for senator in Paraná, where he won the race.

The PT and PL allege "high financial investments" in Moro's pre-campaign, constituting an "illicit disadvantage" in the Senate race in Paraná. The former judge's parties allegedly funded, for example, the purchase of an armored vehicle and full personal security, as well as expenses with law firms.

According to the Public Ministry, approximately R$ 2 million from the Party Fund was spent on Moro's affiliation event to Podemos and on hiring video production for personal promotion, in addition to electoral consulting. The PL pointed out alleged irregular expenses of R$ 7 million. For the PT, it was R$ 21 million.

In a statement sent to the TSE, the Electoral Attorney General's Office (PGE) positioned itself for Moro's acquittal, considering that the expenses pointed out by the opposing parties did not influence the Senate race in Paraná. (With information from Agência Brasil).