Rousseff issues statement criticizing “apocryphal, selective, and illegal leaks”
President Dilma Rousseff issued a press statement condemning the leaking of an alleged plea bargaining statement by Senator Delcídio do Amaral, published by Isto É magazine Thursday (Mar. 3).
According to the magazine, Senator Amaral has given a plea bargain statement in the Petrobras corruption case, Operation Car Wash. He was reported by the magazine to have testified that President Dilma Rousseff and former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva knew about the graft scheme.
“Any apocryphal, selective and illegal leaks are repudiable and we must investigate their source because they violate justice, the law, and the truth,” the president's note read.
Rousseff maintained that all of her administration's actions uphold “individual rights”, “anti-corruption principles” and a commitment to “strengthening the State's institutions”. She the central government “strictly” abides by the constitution.
“If a plea bargain statement has been approved and authorized, it is fair and legitimate that its contents be publicly disclosed. But again, this must be subject to court permission. For the sake of the democratic rule of law, we reject the misuse of leaks as part of a political agenda. These kinds of tools are no good for the stability of the country,” she said.
In the afternoon, Senator Delcídio Amaral's defense released a public statement saying they “do not validate” the information published by Isto É magazine.
“Neither Senator Delcídio nor his counsel validate the contents of the article by Débora Bergamasco. We don't know its source and don't recognize the documents enclosed with the body copy as authentic,” said the statement signed by lawyer Antônio Augusto Figueiredo Basto and the senator himself.
Delcídio do Amaral was the government's leader at Senate when he was arrested under Operation Car Wash, on November 25, after a recording emerged in which he offered former Petrobras director Nestor Cerveró a monthly $13,000 plus an escape plan in exchange for Cerveró not entering a plea bargain deal with the Public Prosecution Office. The senator, who is a member of the Workers' Party (PT), has temporarily resigned.
Translated by Mayra Borges
Fonte: Rousseff issues statement criticizing “apocryphal, selective, and illegal leaks”
