In Brazil, Rousseff's defense calls for impeachment to be annulled

José Eduardo Cardozo, former President Dilma Rousseff's lawyer in the impeachment case, filed an injunction today (Sep. 1) with the Supreme Court to annul the Senate session that saw Rousseff's ouster sealed. A new trial is also requested.

Cardozo pointed out he is not questioning the merits of the senators' decision, but instead whether the case was in compliance with the constitution, further mentioning possible errors in the way it was conducted. There are two main arguments.

In the first, the defense casts doubt on the use of two articles in the Impeachment Law in the Constitution of 1988 and requests that they should be deemed unconstitutional, which would render the charges incriminating Rousseff unfounded, making a new trial necessary.

The second argument points out that Senator Antonio Anastasia, rapporteur of the case in the Senate, included in the motion against Rousseff a decree that had not been mentioned in the report approved by the lower house. This allegedly changed the accusation in a stage in which changes are no longer allowed, undermining the defense.

"There was not a mere change in the legal classification of facts: there was a real change of facts," wrote Cardozo.

New appeal

Cardozo said that he will file at least one more appeal to the Supreme Court in which he will offer a more general argument suggesting lack of cause for the impeachment.

The Supreme Court has already denied previous appeals calling for the annulment of the process due to procedural errors. But Cardozo said the defense "will not throw in the towel too soon."

Justice Teori Zavascki was randomly chosen to report the case and has no deadline set for making a decision on the injunction filed by the former president's defense.

Translated by Amarílis Anchieta / Fabrício Ferreira

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