Moraes Orders Bolsonaro Lawyers Quizzed, Bars Sons' Testimony in Coup Probe

Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court intensified its probe into the alleged 2022 coup plot involving former president Jair Bolsonaro. On 24 June, the Court held an unprecedented face-to-face confrontation between Gen. Walter Braga Netto, Bolsonaro’s one-time defence minister, and Mauro Cid, the ex-aide whose plea bargain underpins much of the case. The session, authorised by Justice Alexandre de Moraes, sought to resolve conflicting accounts about planning for the purported power grab.

Moraes followed the hearing by ordering the Federal Police to question two members of Bolsonaro’s legal entourage—Fábio Wajngarten and Paulo Cunha Bueno—over allegations they approached Cid’s relatives to glean details of his sealed testimony. The justice gave investigators five days to take the statements, which were collected in São Paulo on 1 July. Both lawyers denied any bid to obstruct justice; Wajngarten said his only contact with Cid’s family was arranging a horse-riding event for the former aide’s daughter, while Bueno described a brief social encounter with Cid’s mother.

The Court also moved to keep the case on a tight timetable. Moraes rejected a defence request to add new documents challenging Cid’s cooperation agreement, warning he would not tolerate “procedural turmoil”. Separately, he cancelled planned witness appearances by Bolsonaro’s sons, federal deputy Eduardo and Rio councillor Carlos, ruling that, as subjects of related investigations, they cannot testify. The coup case is now in the final stages before arguments from prosecutors and the defence, with judgment expected later this year.