Senator Rodrigo Pacheco defended STF Minister Dias Toffoli against criticisms for traveling on a private jet with a lawyer from the Master case. Pacheco deems the suspicion claims excessive. Toffoli expressed irritation with court President Edson Fachin for proposing a code of conduct amid the controversies.
Senator Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), former Senate president, defended STF Minister Dias Toffoli on Monday (8), stating that criticisms over Toffoli traveling on a private jet with lawyer Augusto Arruda Botelho, involved in the Master case, are excessive and unfounded. "The circumstance of the minister sharing a private flight with a lawyer does not make him suspect or impeded from judging cases where that lawyer is the appointed patron, definitely," Pacheco said. He added that "if it were so, it would be very easy, by convenience or trickery, to generate suspicion or impediment for a judge to avoid him judging a case." Pacheco stressed that impediment and suspicion follow specific rules in the codes, and this situation does not fit them.
The trip took place on Friday (November 28), when Toffoli headed to Lima to watch the Libertadores final, returning on Sunday (30) on a jet owned by businessman Luiz Osvaldo Pastore. Botelho, former National Secretary of Justice and friend of the jet owner, represents a director of Banco Master. The case was assigned to Toffoli on the afternoon of November 28, after the minister's departure. On December 2, Toffoli imposed high secrecy on a request from the defense of Daniel Vorcaro, owner of the financial institution, and concentrated all Master investigations at the STF, fulfilling the bank's lawyers' request.
Pacheco agreed that the case is correctly at the STF under secrecy, due to mention of an authority with forum privilege and relation to the national financial system. He was a top candidate for an STF vacancy by President Lula but was overlooked in favor of Jorge Messias, sparking a crisis with the PT leader and Senate President Davi Alcolumbre.
Meanwhile, Toffoli expressed irritation to allies over Edson Fachin, STF president, proposing a code of conduct for ministers amid the criticisms. The document, supported by Fachin since before assuming office in October, sets rules for participation in events and trips with private entities and faces resistance in the court. Court insiders note that the initiative is not new.