Bolsonaro urges Brazil Senate to impeach high court justice

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has asked the Senate to impeach a Supreme Court justice — a largely symbolic move that shows he has little desire to ease tensions between his administration and the judiciary

BRASILIA, Brazil -- President Jair Bolsonaro on Friday asked Brazil's Senate to impeach a Supreme Court justice — a largely symbolic move that shows he has little desire to ease tensions with the judiciary. João Marques, Cabinet secretary of the Senate’s president, Rodrigo Pacheco, confirmed to The Associated Press that he received the president's request to impeach Justice Alexandre de Moraes. Pacheco will now have to decide whether there is justification to open investigations that could lead to impeachment. On Tuesday, Pacheco made comments to reporters widely interpreted as a signal that he does not see such grounds. Bolsonaro has bristled at the top court’s rulings since early in the pandemic when justices ruled mayors and governors -- and not just the president -- have jurisdiction to impose restrictions to slow the virus’s spread. Lately, the feud has been coming to a head, with the president targeted by two investigations stemming from his relentless attacks on the integrity of the nation’s electronic voting system. “For a long time, the justices Alexandre de Moraes and Luís Roberto Barroso have gone beyond constitutional limits with actions,” Bolsonaro wrote Aug. 14 on Twitter. He cited Article 52 of Brazil's constitution, which says judges may be tried for crimes and eventually removed from their positions.