As Brazil's Senate Pounces, Trump Salutes Bolsonaro

Senate panel votes to recommend charges against the Brazilian president
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 27, 2021 9:15 AM CDT
Brazil Senators Want Bolsonaro Charged With Charlatanism
In this Oct. 25, 2021, file photo, President Jair Bolsonaro attends the launching ceremony of the National Green Growth Program at the Planalto presidential palace in Brasilia, Brazil.   (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres, File)

Former President Trump is on Jair Bolsonaro's side, but the Brazilian president can't say the same about his Senate. A panel of senators on Tuesday voted 7-4 to recommend charges over Bolsonaro's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, following a six-month investigation that culminated in a 1,288-page report, per CNN. The AP reports they want him tried on charges ranging from charlatanism and inciting crime to misuse of public funds and crimes against humanity in connection with Brazil's more than 600,000 COVID deaths. Senators were seen joyfully hugging after the results of the vote were shared; Bolsonaro has waved off the charges as "fantasies," reports the Hill.

Things now move to the chief prosecutor, but the BBC reports that Bolsonaro appointee Prosecutor-General Augusto Aras is expected to back the president. Should he decide instead to open an investigation, he would first have to get the OK from the country's Supreme Court. Put Trump in the camp of people backing Bolsonaro. On Tuesday he offered an "endorsement" of a man he calls a "great friend," saying, "He fights hard for, and loves, the people of Brazil—Just like I do for the people of the United States. Brazil is lucky to have a man such as Jair Bolsonaro working for them. He is a great President and will never let the people of his great country down!”

The Senate panel also recommended charges against 77 other people, among them Bolsonaro’s three eldest sons, who are accused of spreading COVID misinformation online. As far as the charges against Bolsonaro go, the AP says inciting an epidemic that leads to deaths is the most serious one and carries a sentence of up to 30 years. But experts say the charge with the most potential is delaying or refraining from action required as part of a public official’s duty for reasons of personal interest; were he convicted of that charge, it would carry a sentence of three to 12 months. (More Jair Bolsonaro stories.)

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