Attorney-General files for recusal of govt accounts audit rapporteur

Attorney-General Luís Inácio Adams filed a motion with the Federal Court of Audits (TCU) Monday (Oct. 5) to dismiss the rapporteur of the federal government's 2014 accounts audit, Augusto Nardes.

The government argues that Nardes disclosed his vote to the media ahead of the voting session signaling he was going to reject the accounts. At a news conference on Sunday (4), Adams said he was seeking Nardes's recusal for bias.

“Under the terms of the Organic Law of Magistrates, magistrates are prohibited from expressing their opinion about pending matters on any communication media. Not only has he [Nardes] made remarks on the case, but he has also hinted at what his decision would be. This repeated practice makes the other members feel constrained to support his decision. This is a political rather than a magistrate's position. This case is riddled with political bias,” the Attorney-General said.

In a statement released on the TCU website, Augusto Nardes denied having disclosed his ruling and repudiated Adam's remarks, maintaining that all he had done Thursday (Oct. 1st) was to share a draft report and preliminary opinion with other TCU members, since the Internal Rules of Court require that these documents be handed out to peers no later than five days ahead of the account review session.

According to experts, Adam's case could develop in a number of different ways. TCU President Aroldo Cedraz could draw a member name to act as rapporteur in considering the motion, or it could be preliminarily discussed at the very session Wednesday (Oct. 7) when Rousseff's accounts will be reviewed. A further scenario would be the TCU president hearing Nardes on the motion.

Translated by Mayra Borges

Relacionadas

Examination of 2014 government accounts sparks controversy