Brazil’s Supreme Court shuts down early as political chaos mounts

Members of the high court have exchanged accusations after one justice was accused of involvement in a bank scandal.Brazil’s Supreme Court has cancelled a second straight day of deliberations as suspicions of corruption, political bias and police interference loom over several of its members.Cancellations are rare at the high court. But on Thursday, Chief Justice Luiz Edson Fachin nixed a second consecutive session, calling for the court to reconvene on Tuesday instead.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Brazil orders Discord to suspend livestreams after teen’s deathlist 2 of 3Brazil’s Supreme Court to weigh cases that could weaken Amazon protectionslist 3 of 3Brazil’s Flavio Bolsonaro names Alfredo Gaspar as running mateend of listThe decision was spurred by an ongoing crisis among the court’s members.The divisions emerged on September 1, when one justice, Andre Mendonca, unsealed a series of Federal Police documents that appeared to show a disgraced banker, Daniel Vorcaro, seeking advice from another justice, Alexandre de Moraes.De Moraes has rocketed to prominence in recent years for his roles in high-profile cases.He presided over the trial of former President Jair Bolsonaro after prosecutors accused the far-right leader of plotting a coup following his 2022 election defeat. De Moraes also oversaw suspensions of platforms like X and Rumble for failing to abide by court orders, making him a target for Brazil’s right wing.The document release authorised by Mendonca, a Bolsonaro appointee, contains roughly 30 text messages sent to a phone number associated with de Moraes, allegedly from Vorcaro.In response, de Moraes has accused Mendonca of abusing his authority on the court for political gains. He requested a probe into whether Mendonca interviewed Vorcaro without the presence of police or prosecutors.Tuesday’s session will involve the full Supreme Court bench, and 10 of the justices will discuss whether the 11th member, de Moraes, should be investigated over the text messages.