Government to seek dismissal of impeachment case in lower house

Attorney-General José Eduardo Cardozo will ask the special committee to shelve impeachment proceedings against President Dilma Rousseff on the grounds that there is no legal basis for the claim. He will also argue that there is "a suspicion of misuse of power or authority" when proceedings were initiated, because Lower House Speaker Eduardo Cunha would have accepted the request motivated by his desire for political "revenge," which violates constitutional principles of public administration. The information was released Monday (Apr. 4) by the Attorney-General's Office (AGU).

The minister will make Rousseff's defense this afternoon at the special committee of the Chamber of Deputies that is examining the impeachment proceedings against her. In the document, AGU denies any lending from state banks to the Federal government to fund social programmes, one of the arguments presented by the petitioners of the president's impeachment.

"The defense also claims that the president has not directly acted in this process, one of the constitutional requirements set by the fiscal responsibility law, that could give rise to the impeachment, in case any irregularity had been committed," read the note.

According to AGU, about the spending decrees, questioned by the prosecution, Cardozo will explain that the whole operation was within the law, based on legal recommendations, and that, contrary to the allegations, "did not increase budget spending, but reallocated resources. "

Therefore, according to the minister, the act does not require authorization of Congress, and "would neither influence on the fiscal target to be reached."

Translated by Amarílis Anchieta