Report on charges against Temer to be read in lower house session

Deputy Sérgio Zveiter, of the ruling Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), the congressman in charge of drafting the report on the charges against President Michel Temer in a special lower house commission, is to present the document for reading this Monday afternoon (Jul 10). After a decision is made by the commission, the report will be submitted to the house floor for further deliberation. No date has been fixed for the floor session yet.

The allegations, which accuse the president of pocketing bribes, were lodged by Prosecutor-General Rodrigo Janot, and are based on probes following plea bargain testimonies by meat-packing giant JBS. A recorded conversation with Joesley Batista—one of the owners of the company—and the president, held in March at the official residence of the vice-president, is among the pieces of evidence brought into the case.

Temer's counsel argues that the content of the charges does not amount to concrete evidence, and denies any wrongdoing by the president. In a statement given last week, Temer described the accusations as a “piece of fiction,” and questioned Janot's work.

Proceedings

Starting on Wednesday (12), the members of the commission will discuss the content of Zveiter's report. The discussion is expected to last over 40 hours, as the commission chair allowed all 66 members and their substitutes to speak for up to 15 minutes.

Up to 40 congress members from outside the commission—20 opposing and 20 backing the prosecution—will also be given a chance to utter an opinion for up to 10 minutes each.

Thus far, no date has been set for the vote by the commission members, but deliberations must end in up to five sessions after Temer's defense is submitted, which took place on July 5.

*Débora Brito contributed to this article.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira