{"id":135413,"date":"2019-06-17T12:01:08","date_gmt":"2019-06-17T11:01:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=135413"},"modified":"2019-06-17T12:18:01","modified_gmt":"2019-06-17T11:18:01","slug":"how-and-why-the-intercept-is-reporting-on-a-vast-trove-of-materials-about-brazils-operation-car-wash-and-justice-minister-sergio-moro-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2019\/06\/how-and-why-the-intercept-is-reporting-on-a-vast-trove-of-materials-about-brazils-operation-car-wash-and-justice-minister-sergio-moro-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"How and Why the Intercept Is Reporting on a Vast Trove of Materials about Brazil\u2019s Operation Car Wash and Justice Minister Sergio Moro (Parts 1 to 3)"},"content":{"rendered":"<blockquote>\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2019\/06\/portugues-como-e-por-que-o-intercept-esta-publicando-chats-privados-sobre-a-lava-jato-e-sergio-moro-partes-1-a-5\/\" >Leia em portugu\u00eas<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/lula-intercept.jpg\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-135666\" src=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/lula-intercept-1024x512.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/lula-intercept-1024x512.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/lula-intercept-300x150.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/lula-intercept-768x384.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/lula-intercept.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/h3>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Secret Brazil Archive:<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<h4><em>Part 1: How and Why the Intercept Is Reporting on a Vast Trove of Materials about Brazil\u2019s Operation Car Wash and Justice Minister Sergio Moro <\/em>(present article) &#8211; 9 Jun 2019<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<h4><em>Part 2: <\/em><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2019\/06\/09\/brazil-car-wash-prosecutors-workers-party-lula\/\" ><em>Exclusive: Brazil\u2019s Top Prosecutors Who Indicted Lula Schemed in Secret Messages to Prevent His Party From Winning 2018 Election &#8211;<\/em> 9 Jun 2019<\/a><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<h4><em>Part 3: <\/em><strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2019\/06\/09\/brazil-lula-operation-car-wash-sergio-moro\/\" ><em>Exclusive: Leaked Chats Between Brazilian Judge and Prosecutor Who Imprisoned Lula Reveal Prohibited Collaboration and Doubts Over Evidence<\/em> &#8211; 9 Jun 2019<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<h4><strong><em>WATCH:<\/em><\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2019\/06\/15\/watch-glenn-greenwald-explains-the-political-earthquake-in-brazil-caused-by-our-ongoing-exposes\/\"  target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>Glenn Greenwald Explains the Political Earthquake in Brazil Caused by Our Ongoing Expos\u00e9s<\/em><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2019\/06\/15\/watch-glenn-greenwald-explains-the-political-earthquake-in-brazil-caused-by-our-ongoing-exposes\/\"  target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u2013 15 Jun 2019<\/a><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>9 Jun 2019 &#8211; <\/em>\u00a0The <em>Intercept Brasil<\/em> today published <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2019\/06\/09\/procuradores-tramaram-impedir-entrevista-lula\/\" >three<\/a> <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2019\/06\/09\/chat-moro-deltan-telegram-lava-jato\/\" >explosive<\/a> <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2019\/06\/09\/dallagnol-duvidas-triplex-lula-telegram-petrobras\/\" >expos\u00e9s<\/a> showing highly controversial, politicized, and legally dubious internal discussions and secret actions by the Operation Car Wash anti-corruption task force of prosecutors, led by the chief prosecutor Deltan Dallagnol, along with then-Judge Sergio Moro, now the powerful and <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/time.com\/collection-post\/4302096\/sergio-moro-2016-time-100\/\" >internationally celebrated<\/a>\u00a0justice minister for Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.<\/p>\n<p>These stories are based on a massive\u00a0archive of previously undisclosed materials \u2014 including private chats, audio recordings, videos, photos, court proceedings, and other\u00a0documentation \u2014 provided to us by an anonymous source. They reveal serious wrongdoing, unethical behavior, and systematic deceit about which the public, both in Brazil and internationally, has the right to know.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><em><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/series\/secret-brazil-archive\/\" >Read Our Complete Coverage Secret Brazil Archive<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>These three articles were published today in The Intercept Brasil\u00a0in Portuguese,\u00a0and\u00a0we have synthesized\u00a0them into\u00a0<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2019\/06\/09\/brazil-car-wash-prosecutors-workers-party-lula\/\" >two English-language<\/a> <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2019\/06\/09\/brazil-lula-operation-car-wash-sergio-moro\/\" >articles for The Intercept<\/a>. Given the size and\u00a0global influence of Brazil\u00a0under the new Bolsonaro government, these stories are of great significance\u00a0to an international audience.<\/p>\n<p>This is\u00a0merely the beginning of what we intend to be an ongoing journalistic investigation, using this massive archive of material, into the\u00a0Car Wash corruption probe; Moro\u2019s actions when he was a judge\u00a0and those of\u00a0the prosecutor Dallagnol; and the conduct of numerous individuals who continue to wield great political and economic power both inside Brazil and in other countries.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond the inherent political, economic, and environmental importance of Brazil under Bolsonaro, the significance of these revelations\u00a0arises from the\u00a0<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2017\/jun\/01\/brazil-operation-car-wash-is-this-the-biggest-corruption-scandal-in-history\" >incomparably consequential actions<\/a> of the yearslong Car Wash corruption probe. That\u00a0sweeping scandal\u00a0implicated\u00a0numerous leading political figures, oligarchs, <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/03\/22\/world\/americas\/brazil-car-wash-corruption-temer.html\" >Bolsonaro\u2019s predecessor as president<\/a>, and <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2019-04-17\/former-president-of-peru-shoots-self-in-head-as-police-close-in\" >even foreign leaders<\/a>\u00a0in corruption prosecutions.<\/p>\n<p>Most importantly,\u00a0Car Wash was the investigative saga\u00a0that led to the imprisonment of former President Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva last year.\u00a0Lula\u2019s conviction by Moro, once it was quickly affirmed by an appellate court,\u00a0<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www1.folha.uol.com.br\/internacional\/en\/brazil\/2018\/09\/high-court-bars-lula-candidacy.shtml\" >rendered\u00a0him ineligible to run for president<\/a> at a time when <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/monkey-cage\/wp\/2018\/04\/16\/lula-da-silva-is-in-jail-and-hes-still-brazils-leading-candidate-for-president-here-are-3-ways-that-could-turn-out\/?utm_term=.b565bbe7a708\" >all polls showed that Lula<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 who was twice elected president by large margins in 2002 and in 2006\u00a0before being term-limited out of\u00a0office in 2010 with <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/g1.globo.com\/politica\/noticia\/2010\/12\/popularidade-de-lula-bate-recorde-e-chega-87-diz-ibope.html\" >an 87 percent approval rating<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 was the frontrunner\u00a0in the 2018 presidential race.\u00a0Lula\u2019s\u00a0exclusion from the election, based on Moro\u2019s finding of guilt, was a\u00a0key episode that paved the way for Bolsonaro\u2019s election victory.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps most remarkably, after Bolsonaro won the presidency, he created a new position of unprecedented authority, referred to by Brazilians as \u201csuper justice minister,\u201d\u00a0to oversee an agency with consolidated powers\u00a0over law enforcement, surveillance, and investigation previously interspersed among multiple ministries. Bolsonaro created that position for the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www1.folha.uol.com.br\/internacional\/en\/brazil\/2018\/11\/bolsonaro-will-offer-superministry-to-operation-carwash-judge.shtml\" >benefit of\u00a0the very judge who found Lula guilty<\/a>, Sergio Moro, and\u00a0it is\u00a0<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-latin-america-46063656\" >the position Moro now occupies<\/a>. In other words, Moro now wields immense police and surveillance powers in Brazil \u2014 courtesy of a president who was elected only after Moro, while he was as judge, rendered\u00a0Bolsonaro\u2019s key adversary ineligible to run against him.<\/p>\n<p>The Car Wash prosecutors and Moro have been highly controversial in Brazil and internationally \u2014 heralded by many as anti-corruption heroes and accused by others\u00a0of being clandestine right-wing ideologues masquerading as apolitical law enforcers. Their critics have insisted that they have abused and exploited their law enforcement powers with the politicized goal of preventing Lula from returning to the presidency and destroying his leftist Workers\u2019 Party, or the PT. Moro and the prosecutors\u00a0have, with equal vehemence, denied that they have any political allegiances or objectives and\u00a0have said they are simply trying to cleanse Brazil of corruption.<\/p>\n<p>But, until now, the Car Wash prosecutors and Moro have carried out their work largely in secret, preventing the public from evaluating the validity of the accusations against them and the truth of their denials. That\u2019s what makes this new archive so journalistically valuable: For the first time, the public will learn what these judges and prosecutors were saying and doing when they thought nobody was listening.<\/p>\n<p>Today\u2019s articles show, among other things, that the Car Wash prosecutors spoke openly of their desire to prevent the PT from winning the election and took steps to carry out that agenda, and that Moro secretly and unethically collaborated with the Car Wash prosecutors to help design the case against Lula despite serious internal doubts about the evidence supporting the accusations, only for him to then pretend to be its neutral adjudicator.<\/p>\n<p>The Intercept\u2019s only role in obtaining these materials was to receive them from our source, who contacted us many weeks ago (long before the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/riotimesonline.com\/brazil-news\/brazil\/brazils-justice-ministers-smartphone-hacked-for-six-hours\/\" >recently alleged hacking of Moro\u2019s telephone<\/a>) and informed us that they had already obtained the full set of materials\u00a0and was eager to provide them to journalists.<\/p>\n<p>Informing the public of matters in the public interest and exposing wrongdoing was our guiding principle in doing this initial reporting on the archive, and it will continue to be our guiding principle as we report further on the large number of materials we have been provided.<\/p>\n<p>The sheer volume of materials in this archive, as well as the fact that many documents include private conversations among public officials, requires us to make journalistic decisions about which documents should be reported on and published, and which documents should be withheld.<\/p>\n<p>When making these judgments, we employ the standard used by journalists in democracies around the world: namely, that material revealing wrongdoing or deceit by powerful actors should be reported, but information that is purely private in nature and whose disclosure may infringe upon legitimate privacy interests or other social values should be withheld.<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, in our reporting on this material, we are guided by the same rationale that led much of Brazilian society \u2014 including many journalists, commentators, and activists \u2014 to praise the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2016\/mar\/17\/release-tapped-phone-calls-lula-rousseff-deepens-brazil-chaos\" >disclosure in 2016 by Moro and various media outlets of the private telephone calls<\/a> between Lula and former President Dilma Rousseff, in which the two leaders discussed the possibility of Lula becoming a minister in Dilma\u2019s government. Disclosure of those private calls was crucial in turning public opinion against the PT, helping to lay\u00a0the groundwork for\u00a0Dilma\u2019s 2016 impeachment and Lula\u2019s 2018 imprisonment. The principle invoked to justify that disclosure was the same one we are adhering to in our reporting on these materials: that a democracy is healthier when\u00a0significant actions undertaken in secret by powerful figures are revealed to the public.<\/p>\n<p>But unlike those disclosures by Moro and various media outlets of the private conversations between Lula and Dilma \u2014 which included not only matters whose disclosures\u00a0were in the public interest, but also private communications of Lula that <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theglobeandmail.com\/news\/world\/transcript-of-phone-calls-between-former-brazilian-president-luiz-inacio-lula-da-silva-and-various-political-supporters\/article29285890\/\" >had no public relevance<\/a> and\u00a0that many argued were released with the intention of personally embarrassing Lula \u2014 The Intercept has resolved to withhold any private communications, audio recordings, videos, or other materials relating to Moro, Dallagnol, or any other parties\u00a0that are purely private in nature and thus unrelated to matters of public interest.<\/p>\n<p>We have taken measures to secure the archive and all of its component materials outside of Brazil, so that numerous journalists have access to it, ensuring that no authorities in any country will have the ability to prevent reporting\u00a0based on these materials. We intend to report on and publish stories based on the archive as expeditiously as possible in accordance with\u00a0our high standards of factual accuracy and journalistic responsibility.<\/p>\n<p>Consistent with journalistic practice in countries where the press operates under the threat of censorship and prior restraint orders, as has been the situation recently in Bolsonaro-led Brazil, we did not seek comment from the powerful legal officials mentioned in these stories prior to publication because we did not want to give them advance notice of this reporting, and because the documents speak for themselves. We contacted them immediately upon publication and will update the stories with their comments if and when they provide them.<\/p>\n<p>Given the immense power wielded by these actors, and the secrecy\u00a0under which they have \u2014 until now \u2014 been able to operate, transparency is crucial for\u00a0Brazil and the international community\u00a0to have a clear understanding of what they have really done. A free press exists to shine a light on what the most powerful figures in society do in the dark.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Update: June 9, 2019<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>The Car Wash task force did not refute the authenticity of the information published by The Intercept. In a press release published Sunday evening, they wrote, \u201cpossibly among the illegally copied information are documents and data on ongoing strategies and investigations and on the personal and security routines of task force members and their families. There is peace of mind that any data obtained reflects activities developed with full respect for legality and in a technical and impartial manner, over more than five years of the operation.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Update: June 9, 2019<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>Justice Minister Sergio Moro also published a note in response to our reporting: \u201cAbout alleged messages that would involve me, posted by The Intercept website this Sunday, June 9, I lament the lack of indication of the source of the person responsible for the criminal invasion of the prosecutors\u2019 cell phones. As well as the position of the site that did not contact me before the publication, contrary to basic rule of journalism.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>As for the content of the messages they mention, there is no sign of any abnormality or providing directions as a magistrate, despite being taken out of context and the sensationalism of the articles, they ignore the gigantic corruption scheme revealed by Operation Car\u00a0Wash.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>________________________________________________<\/p>\n<p><em>Related:<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><em><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2019\/06\/09\/brazil-car-wash-prosecutors-workers-party-lula\/\" > Exclusive: Brazil\u2019s Top Prosecutors Who Indicted Lula Schemed in Secret Messages to Prevent His Party From Winning 2018 Election<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><em><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2019\/06\/09\/brazil-lula-operation-car-wash-sergio-moro\/\" ><strong>Exclusive: Leaked Chats Between Brazilian Judge and Prosecutor Who Imprisoned Lula Reveal Prohibited Collaboration and Doubts Over Evidence<\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/li>\n<li><em><strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/series\/secret-brazil-archive\/\" >Secret Brazil Archive<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>*************<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/staff\/glenn-greenwald\/\" >Glenn Greenwald<\/a> &#8211; <a href=\"mailto:glenn.greenwald@theintercept.com\">glenn.greenwald@\u200btheintercept.com<\/a> <\/em><br \/>\n<em><a href=\"mailto:Leandro%20Demori\">Leandro Demori<\/a> &#8211; <\/em><em><a href=\"mailto:leandro.demori@theintercept.com\">leandro.demori@\u200btheintercept.com<\/a><\/em><br \/>\n<em><a href=\"mailto:Betsy%20Reed\">Betsy Reed<\/a> &#8211; <\/em><em><a href=\"mailto:betsy.reed@theintercept.com\">betsy.reed@\u200btheintercept.com<\/a> <\/em><\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2019\/06\/09\/brazil-archive-operation-car-wash\/\" >Go to Original \u2013 theintercept.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A massive archive exclusively provided to The Intercept confirms long-held suspicions about the politicized motives and deceit of Brazil\u2019s corruption investigators who plotted Lula&#8217;s conviction and Bolsonaro&#8217;s rise.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":135666,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[180],"tags":[547,239,120,550,393,276,267,651,541,1134,234,109,287,985,921],"class_list":["post-135413","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-brics","tag-brazil","tag-brics","tag-conflict","tag-corruption","tag-coup","tag-democracy","tag-geopolitics","tag-justice","tag-latin-america-caribbean","tag-lula-da-silva","tag-media","tag-politics","tag-power","tag-social-justice","tag-whistleblowing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135413","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=135413"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135413\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/135666"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=135413"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=135413"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=135413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}