Public Prosecution Office unable to help Rousseff nominate new ministers

The Federal Public Prosecution Office (MPF) must not be consulted with a view to helping President Dilma Rousseff come to a decision on the appointment of new cabinet members, said Justice Minister José Eduardo Cardozo during a press conference on Tuesday (Dec 23). The plan had been mentioned by Rousseff during a breakfast with accredited journalists at the Presidential Palace, on Monday (Dec 22).

Cardozo said he had a talk with Prosecutor-General Rodrigo Janot, who declared that all the information concerning the names mentioned in the testimonies given under plea bargain as part of Operation Car Wash is classified and must not be disclosed.

The minister stated that the president will base her choices on the data available from “official documents”, like the ones provided by the Clean Record Law.

As a response to former head of the Supreme Court Joaquim Barbosa's criticism against what the president intended to do, Cardozo said “having information is crucial. It's natural for a leader to seek information when putting his/her team together. Of course, what has been required wasn't advice, or guidance, but information that would come in handy when making decisions on the nominations. Since it wasn't possible, for legal reasons, it wasn't done,” he argued, adding that maybe Barbosa did not understand what Rousseff had in mind.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira

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