STF Suspends Decision on Investigating Minister Moraes After Heated Session

Overview

• The extraordinary plenary session on Tuesday was halted when Justice Flávio Dino asked for a pedido de vista, which under current rules can pause the judgment for up to 90 days and blocks any immediate opening of an investigation into Alexandre de Moraes.
• The deliberation was convened to consider a Polícia Federal report that the court received identifying 52 messages sent by former Banco Master owner Daniel Vorcaro to Moraes and to weigh whether to open the first investigation of a sitting Supreme Court minister.
• Ministers spent most of the session debating procedures rather than the substance, with disputes over relatoria and avocação, proposals to join Moraes’s file with proceedings involving André Mendonça, and repeated public clashes among Gilmar Mendes, André Mendonça, Edson Fachin and Flávio Dino.
• The episode has become political fodder: President Lula urged a full, careful inquiry while warning against electoral disruption and opposition figures including Flávio Bolsonaro have used the crisis in campaign rhetoric.
• The suspension has produced recusals and impediments tied to material from Vorcaro, drawn sharp international media attention, and prompted renewed calls for judicial ethics reforms while several ministers warn the dispute could effectively freeze the Supreme Court’s agenda through year end.