Ethics Council gets new rapporteur in case against Eduardo Cunha
Brasília - Pressed by Cunha's fellow party members, council chairman José Carlos Araújo agreed to choose a new rapporteur.
The chairman of the Council of Ethics of the Chamber of Deputies, set to deliberate on the opening of proceedings to strip lower house speaker Eduardo Cunha of his license, said he had to choose another rapporteur with whom to replace Fausto Pinato, who had already turned in his report for Cunha's removal.
Pressed by Cunha's fellow party members, council chairman José Carlos Araújo agreed to choose one of the three appointments brought forward by the lawmakers. The one selected was PDT (Brazilian Democratic Labor Party) Deputy Marcos Rogério, from the northern state of Rondônia. He is to serve as rapporteur in the case on Eduardo Cunha's removal for breach of trust, for having lied about alleged accounts in Switzerland, identified by Swiss prosecutors.
“We want the vote to be held before the recess, if there's going to be any recess at all. This is what the head of the council and most council members want. If some don't, there's not much we can do about them,” Araújo said, referring to deputies on Cunha's side, who have deliberately started debates in an attempt to put off the sessions as well as the reading of the report.
The new rapporteur, Marcos Rogério, believes the vote on the report may be held next week.
Marcos Rogério refrained from expressing a position on the accusations targeting Cunha. “I'm free of any bias here. My side is that of the more appropriate attitude,” he said.
On announcing Rogério's name, however, Araújo revealed his stance. “He's for the admissibility, he's for an investigation, so I'm sure he'll make a good rapporteur and work appropriately.”
Both the chairman and the new rapporteur believe the vote on the report may be held next week. According to Araújo, changing rapporteurs does not imply proceedings will begin anew.
“It doesn't start over. The rapporteur is working, but I can guarantee it doesn't start from scratch. It probably starts where we left off”, said the head of the council. The rapporteur further promised to work in strict compliance with the Code of Ethics and the rules and regulations of the Chamber of Deputies, without delaying the case or bringing it forward. “I think the vote on the report should be carried out next week,” the rapporteur said.
Translated by Fabrício Ferreira
Fonte: Ethics Council gets new rapporteur in case against Eduardo Cunha
