Brazil: Bolsonaro denies shielding family in meddling charge

Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro on Tuesday denied that he tried to shield his family and friends from federal police inquiries during a cabinet meeting in April.

The footage was shown to investigators looking into allegations made by former Justice Minister Sergio Moro, who resigned two days after the meeting, alleging Bolsonaro was trying to interfere in law enforcement for personal reasons.

At the meeting, Bolsonaro said that his family was being persecuted and he needed to change Rio de Janeiro's chief of federal police, news agency Reuters reported, quoting a source who saw the video.  

Read more: Brazil's top court allows investigation of Bolsonaro

He also reportedly threatened to fire the justice minister and the federal police's national director, if changes to the ranks weren't made, according to the recording which Bolsonaro said should have been destroyed.

Ex-Justice Minister Moro was also invited to view the tape. His lawyer said the video confirmed his allegations against Bolsonaro and called for the tape to be made public. Moro also said that events following his resignation further backed up his account, as the national director of federal police and the Rio police chief were replaced.

Read more: Brazil's Justice Minister Sergio Moro quits, says Bolsonaro was meddling

Bolsonaro ‘not worried' 

The president, meanwhile, said he is not worried about the Supreme Court-authorized investigation into Moro's allegations, adding that the words "federal police" did not come up in the recording.

"The safety of my family is one thing. I am not and I was never worried about the federal police,'' Bolsonaro said after the video was viewed. "The federal police never investigated anyone of my family, that does not exist in the video."

Read more:  Where could Brazil's criminal investigation of Jair Bolsonaro lead?

If Brazil's prosecutor general decides to charge the president with obstruction of justice and abuse of power, it could lead to Bolsonaro being suspended from office.

adi/jsi (Reuters, AP) 

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