SAO PAULO (AP) – Brazil’s top electoral court on Wednesday moves into the second day of its examination of illegal campaign finance allegations that could force President Michel Temer from office, with much hinging on how the judges rule on motions seeking to throw out testimony that arose from plea bargains.
The damaging testimony against Temer came from executives at the huge construction company Odebrecht, which is one of the businesses at the center of a sprawling investigation into kickbacks and bribes at the state-run oil company Petrobras, a scandal that has upended Brazil’s life. The legal teams of Temer and his former running mate in the 2014 election, then President Dilma Rousseff, argue that the testimony goes far beyond the purview of the Petrobras probe.
The issue is the first item on Wednesday’s agenda, and a simple majority among the seven judges will decide the question.
If the testimonies are kept, Temer will be one step closer to being pushed out of office over allegations that the Rousseff-Temer ticket in 2014 was backed by illegal campaign contributions. Rousseff, who was impeached last year for illegally managing the government’s budget and replaced as president by Temer, would come closer to losing her right to hold office for eight years.
Judge Herman Benjamin, who was named by the court to examine the case, began proceedings Tuesday evening with his analysis of the charges against the Rousseff-Temer campaign.