the news now

The world's news, cross-checked among reputable sources.

This is a new development in a story we have covered before · earlier coverage

Brazil Supreme Court Justice Removes Federal Police Chief Amid Institutional Crisis

morning · · thread: Tension Rises Between Brazil's Federal Police and Supreme Court Justice Over INSS Fraud Probe

7 sources across 2 countries · Brazil · United States

Who reported this

  • G1 Brazil · Centre-left · Grupo Globo (Marinho family)
  • UOL Brazil · Centre-left · Grupo Folha
  • CNN Brasil Brazil · Centre · Rubens Menin (MRV)
  • Folha de S.Paulo Brazil · Centre · Grupo Folha (Frias family)
  • Estadao Brazil · Centre-right · Grupo Estado (Mesquita family)
  • Gazeta do Povo Brazil · Centre-right · Grupo Paranaense de Comunicacao
  • Associated Press United States · Centre · Non-profit news cooperative

What the colours mean

  • Left
  • Centre-left
  • Centre
  • Centre-right
  • Right
  • A hatched block means the outlet is affiliated with, or controlled by, a state.

Political lean describes where an outlet sits within the politics of its own country. It is never a position on a single global scale.

Political lean is comparable inside one country and not across them, which is why the bar groups by country first. Publicly funded broadcasters are not marked as state-linked.

The owner of each outlet is listed as a matter of record, not as a judgement about the outlet.

Supreme Court Justice André Mendonça ordered the preventive removal of Andrei Rodrigues, the Director General of the Federal Police, and Leandro Almada, the Director of Police Intelligence. The decision follows allegations that the Federal Police produced illegal intelligence reports that monitored Mendonça and Attorney General Jorge Messias. Mendonça stated that the reports were used by Justice Alexandre de Moraes to request an investigation into Mendonça for abuse of authority and crimes of responsibility regarding the Banco Master and INSS cases. The decision was initially supported by Justices Kassio Nunes Marques and Luiz Fux in a virtual session of the Second Panel, though Justice Gilmar Mendes requested more time for analysis, pausing the proceedings.

The Attorney General's Office (AGU) has requested that STF President Edson Fachin suspend the removal, arguing that the order violates the president's exclusive constitutional prerogative to appoint and remove Federal Police leadership. Fachin has given Mendonça 72 hours to respond to the AGU request. Meanwhile, 13 retired STF ministers have sent an open letter to Fachin calling for an urgent investigation into what they describe as the greatest crisis in the history of the court.

Political reactions have been sharply divided. Center right sources frame the event as an exposure of the political weaponization of the Federal Police under the Lula administration, citing the reports as evidence of illegal surveillance of state authorities. Center left sources frame the decision as an institutional crisis and a political move by Mendonça to pressure the government and benefit political allies, specifically Flávio Bolsonaro. Center sources describe the situation as a deepening of institutional wear and a clash of competencies between the executive and judicial branches. The Federal Police delegates and criminal experts associations have criticized the move, calling for the full plenary of the Supreme Court to analyze the removal rather than a restricted panel.

How each side framed it

Centre-left
Framed the removal as a political maneuver by Mendonça to pressure President Lula and a violation of executive prerogatives.
Centre
Framed the event as an institutional crisis and a clash of competencies between the executive and judicial branches.
Centre-right
Framed the decision as a necessary step to stop the political weaponization and illegal surveillance conducted by the Federal Police.

Sources

100% of the statements in this article were traced back to the source articles listed above.