Brazil's Defense Ministry involved in Bolsonaro plot of 2022 elections
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The former Brazil Defense Minister and now retired General Paulo Sergio Nogueira is set to testify in probe into former Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro over 2022 election hiatus.
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Brazils President Jair Bolsonaro whispers in the ear of Defense Minister Paulo Sergio Nogueira during a military parade to celebrate the bicentennial of the country's independence from Portugal in Brasília, Brazil, Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2022. (AP)
A suspected plan by Brazil's defense ministry officials regarding the claims of then President Jair Bolsonaro about the possibility of fraud in the 2022 elections is being investigated by Brazil's Federal Police, according to information relayed by a police source on Tuesday.
In 2022 Bolsonaro made baseless allegations noting that electronic voting machines were vulnerable to fraud, and according to the police source, Bolonaro's Defense Minister and now retired General Paulo Sergio Nogueira will be expected to be called on by investigators for being involved in Bolosnaro's extensive plan to ground his claims.
Last week, computer programmer Walter Delgatti told lawmakers Bolsonaro requested that he try to tamper with a voting machine in an attempt to prove that fraud was possible given the existent electoral system.
Read more: 'We know the signs aren't good': Bolsonaro over possible political ban
According to Delgatti, despite having been paid by Bolsonaro, he had failed to hack the voting machine. However, Bolonaro requested he discuss the matter with Defense Ministery experts, at the time, given that a report was being put together to support Bolsonaro's allegations.
Bolsonaro's lawyers argued that there it was not a crime for the former President to have met with the hacker, at the time.
The Federal Police will summon Bolsonaro to testify for the fifth time since leaving office on Aug. 31, according to another police source with firsthand knowledge of the investigation.
This time, Bolsonaro will be interrogated concerning a communication discovered by police in which he allegedly ordered businessmen to spread false information about the Supreme Court and the voting process on social media, according to the source.
Brazil widens inquiry into theft of state gifts under Bolsonaro
Brazilian authorities are also investigating Jair Bolsonaro's participation in the theft of official gifts, which initially made headlines in March.
The controversy involved lavish gifts from Saudi Arabia and Bahrain and first made news three months after Bolsonaro stepped down following his loss of the election last October.
According to one of Brazil's conservative publications, in October 2021, Sao Paulo airport customs authorities intercepted a €3 million (£2.6 million) set of diamond earrings that a military official traveling with one of Bolsonaro's ministers attempted to bring in his backpack without registering. Bolsonaro administration attempted, but failed, to retrieve the jewelry, which was allegedly a gift from Saudi Arabia to the then-first lady, Michelle Bolsonaro.
