Brazil prosecutor-general calls for inclusion of Temer in Odebrecht probe

Brazil's Prosecutor-General Raquel Dodge asked Supreme Court Chief Justice Edson Fachin to include President Michel Temer on the list of people investigated in connection with the alleged illicit advantages given to construction giant Odebrecht by the  president's Civil Aviation Secretariat. From 2013 to 2015, under the administration of impeached President Dilma Rousseff, the agency was led by Eliseu Padilha and Moreira Franco, both current members of Temer's cabinet. The two ministers are already among the officials under scrutiny.

In her statement, Dodge disagreed with former Prosecutor Rodrigo Janot, who decided not to target Temer in the inquiry, as he understood that the president is shielded by the Constitution while in his post. Dodge argues that the Constitution only bans filing charges against the investigated, but not inquiries into a president's doings.

According to the plea bargain statement by onetime Odebrecht executive Claudio Melo Filho, a dinner was held at the Jaburu Palace, residence of Brazil's vice-president, in May 2014, to arrange the details concerning the funneling of $3 million for the electoral campaign of the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), of which Temer is a member.

Carlos Marun, the president's secretary of government, advocated Temer's innocence, whom he referred to as “an honored man.” “Let them investigate if that's what they want. But they'll once again reach the conclusion that nothing blemishes the figure of the president, who is an honored man, with property declared in line with his income over the course of decades of work,” said Marun.

*Marcelo Brandão contributed to this article.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira