Bolsonaro’s argument about Saudi jewelry won’t last
Photo: Reproduction
Jair Bolsonaro, his sons and defenders, such as lawyer Frederic Wassef, have already clarified what their line of defense will be in the case of male gifts (photo) given to him by the Saudis, which the former president admitted to having. kept for himself the pen, the ring, the cuffs, the watch, and the Arabic rosary; “Very personal” and, therefore, there was no need to go to the collection of the Presidency of the Republic.
Leaving aside the fact that it took some time to refine the speech, it shows that effort was required to pull the argument out of the hat. Does history stop?
The answer is negative, because the Federal Court of Auditors analyzed the topic in 2016 and created parameters for separate items to be attributed to the Presidency collection and those that will be part of the representatives’ personal collection.
Back then, the court used things like: “Personalized medals, hats, t-shirts, ties, slippers and perfumes”. The intervention of the minister reporting the case, Walton Alencar, made it clear that the jewelry sent to the president, and even more so the 16.5 million rials worth of jewelry that will make Michelle, cannot be included in this category;
“Imagine, by the way, the situation of the head of the government presenting to the President of the Republic of Brazil a large emerald of inestimable value or a valuable painting.” remarked Alencar. “It is unreasonable to claim that based on the name of the ceremony, gifts, valuable or not, can be included in the private property of the President of the Republic, because he receives them in this public capacity.”
Based on this understanding, the TCU concluded that since 2002, all administration of gifts by the President of the Republic has suffered from “serious violations” and therefore forced Lula and Dilma Rousseff to transfer more than 700 items to the public collection (568 from Lula and 144 from Dilma).
Unlike the PA, who could claim that there was no rule when they treated the objects of the Presidency as if they were from their personal collection, Bolsonaro has no way to appeal to this thesis.
The claim made by Flavio Bolsonaro this Wednesday the 8th is clumsy. “In my opinion, a jewelry box is very personal, regardless of value.” he said. “TCU now has this understanding.” No The understanding is seven years ago. If the president decided to pack the gifts and take them home when leaving Planalto, it is at least because he thought that his opinion coincided with the opinion of the state body.
Obviously, other strange aspects of the case still need explanation. a month before leaving office…
As for the millionaire jewels addressed to Michele, Bolsonaro sticks to one of those ambiguous expressions that politicians use when they find themselves in trouble. “I did not ask for or receive these other gifts”He says. It is a fact, but the statement hides that the government tried eight times to recover the jewels seized from the Federal Revenue Service, the last time on the eve of the end of Bolsonaro’s term, when one of his advisers went to Sao Paulo. “Urgent at the request of the President”.to try to accomplish the mission.
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