Fachin reassigns Mendonça case from Moraes inquiry

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On Friday, September 4, Chief Justice Edson Fachin removed a request to investigate Justice Andre Mendonca from the long-running fake news inquiry overseen by Justice Alexandre de Moraes. The request was reassigned to a separate petition handled by the court presidency, addressing criticisms that Moraes acted as both the requester and the judge within the inquiry. Before the full court can consider the matter, the prosecutor general and Mendonca must submit written positions. This move serves as a procedural shift, placing the case outside of the inquiry that historically granted Moraes broad investigative powers.

Consequences

The reassignment effectively delays any immediate decision on the investigation of Mendonca, as the process now requires formal input from the prosecutor general and the justice in question. This procedural change marks the first significant check on Justice Moraes’s authority within the court in several months.

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