The Federal Court suspended the effects of the resolution of the Chamber of Deputies that confirmed the impeachment of former federal deputy from Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Cunha, in 2016.
The decision was taken on Thursday (21) by the judge Carlos Augusto Pires Brandão, of the Federal Regional Court of the 1st Region (TRF1), based in Brasília, when analyzing an appeal presented by the defense of the politician.
In 2016, Cunha was impeached by the plenary of the Chamber on the accusation of having lied, in testimony at the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPI) of Petrobras, about the existence of accounts abroad.
Cunha’s defense alleged that the information about the blocking of an account in Switzerland that would belong to the then deputy was protected by tax secrecy and could not be shared by the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) without judicial authorization.
When analyzing the issue, the judge decided to suspend the effects of the cassation to remove Cunha’s ineligibility and the ban on holding federal positions until the court’s final decision.
“In view of the legal plausibility of the allegations brought so far by the author, it is necessary to avoid the transit of threats to the appellant’s political rights, by granting the requested urgent relief. There is, as already recorded in the contested decision itself, the presence of the danger in moradue to the fact that the conviction of the aggravating factor prevents him from running in the next elections and removes from the voter the possibility of evaluating his political performance”, understood the magistrate.
