Posted on 09/03/2025 3:36:57 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
Summary
BRASILIA, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who is on trial for charges of plotting a coup after he lost the 2022 election, did not attack democracy and has had his right to a fair defense restricted, his lawyer argued on Wednesday.
"We did not have access to the evidence, and much less had enough time to go through it," Celso Vilardi told the Supreme Court. He asserted that the court had fast-tracked proceedings.
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Local media and Bolsonaro backers have said that the court appeared to be streamlining proceedings to ensure the trial does not overlap with campaigns for the 2026 presidential elections.
Alexandre de Moraes, the justice overseeing the case, has denied those claims.
The final phase of the landmark trial, which could for the first time send a former Brazilian president to jail for threatening democracy, began on Tuesday and is expected to conclude by the end of next week.
Paulo Amador da Cunha Bueno, one of Bolsonaro's lawyers, told Reuters that the former president will not attend any of the trial sessions.
The trial is unfolding under the glare of U.S. President Donald Trump, who has called it a "witch hunt" and retaliated by imposing 50% tariffs on many Brazilian goods and sanctions on Justice Moraes. Bolsonaro and his son Eduardo are being investigated for inviting Trump's interference in the case.
As he opened the court session on Tuesday, Moraes said a "criminal organization" had tried to coerce the high court to submit to "the scrutiny of..."
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
The playbook of the Global Left is to be bookers, rig the results, don’t let the opposition speak. We saw this with Dominion Voting Systems v. Fox News. It’s happening in Brasil and the dictatorship.
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