- Title: Brazilian anti-corruption crusader backs Bolsonaro 2022 re-election
- Date: 13th August 2019
- Summary: RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL (FILE - NOVEMBER 01, 2018) (REUTERS) MORO OUTSIDE HOME OF PRESIDENT JAIR BOLSONARO
- Embargoed: 27th August 2019 01:27
- Keywords: Brazil Justice Minister Sergio Moro Brazil corruption prob federal judge President Jair Bolsonaro
- Location: BRASILIA + RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL / ESTORIL, PORTUGAL
- City: BRASILIA + RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL / ESTORIL, PORTUGAL
- Country: Brazil
- Topics: Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA003ARWYXXJ
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: AUDIO AS INCOMING
Brazilian Justice Minister Sergio Moro, who oversaw Brazil's biggest corruption probe as a federal judge, said on Monday (August 12) he has no interest in elected office and that President Jair Bolsonaro is his candidate for the 2022 election.
Moro's popularity has been dented by reports he collaborated with prosecutors investigating jailed former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, based on leaks of their alleged chats published by news website the Intercept and Brazilian media.
Critics and even some supporters of Moro's anti-graft efforts have expressed concerns about messages suggesting the former judge had inappropriately steered prosecutors' efforts on cases where he eventually cast verdicts and issued sentences.
Moro disputed the authenticity of the messages published by The Intercept and added that he saw nothing "abnormal" about a Brazilian judge communicating with prosecutors in a criminal investigation. He said he took the job in Bolsonaro's government to consolidate gains in the fight against rampant corruption in Brazil and take on organised crime.
But the anti-crime package he unveiled in February is on the back burner in Congress, where the government has given priority to passing an overhaul of Brazil's pension system and other measures to close a huge budget deficit.
(Production: Sebastian Rocandio, Paul Vieira) - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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