Overview

• PT leader Lindbergh Farias filed a petition on September 29 asking the Chamber’s Ethics Council and the Board of Officers to remove Marcelo Freitas as rapporteur in the case against Eduardo Bolsonaro.
• The filing cites videos and statements in which Freitas called Eduardo Bolsonaro a friend, pledged loyalty to Jair Bolsonaro, backed amnesty for January 8 defendants, and defended actions against Supreme Court ministers.
• Lindbergh requests that a new rapporteur be chosen from the pre-drawn list, limited to Duda Salabert or Paulo Lemos, instead of Freitas.
• Ethics Council president Fabio Schiochet defended Freitas’s designation as based on technical criteria and said he is fit to act impartially, noting he had rejected Duda Salabert previously over a public video showing prior stance.
• The Council and the Board must now decide whether to uphold Freitas or replace him, as the underlying case alleges Eduardo Bolsonaro violated decorum by pushing from the United States for sanctions against Brazilian authorities and attacking institutions, with penalties that can include loss of mandate.