Brazil's Supreme Court crisis: Fachin strips Moraes of "fake news" inquiry

Decision to remove the inquiry

On Wednesday, September 9, STF president Edson Fachin announced that the preliminary, evidence-gathering phase of the "fake news" inquiry would be taken away from Justice Alexandre de Moraes and placed under the Court's Presidency. According to G1, the same ruling also suspended certain decisions previously made by justices André Mendonça and Flávio Dino. The inquiry itself is a probe opened by the STF in 2019 to investigate fake news, false crime reports, slanderous accusations and threats against the Court, its justices and their families.

Moraes keeps most of his influence

As Gazeta do Povo explains, the ruling does not annul Moraes's previous decisions: the STF's full bench already ruled in 2020 that both the inquiry's creation and Moraes's appointment to lead it were constitutional, so arrests, breaches of secrecy and other measures taken over the inquiry's seven years remain valid. Moraes also continues as rapporteur for several major cases, including the "digital militias" inquiry, cases tied to the January 8, 2023 attacks, and all criminal proceedings where charges have already been accepted — such as those against pastor Silas Malafaia and his former aide Eduardo Tagliaferro — and he still rules on sentence enforcement for convicts. Only investigations still at a preliminary stage move to the Presidency, which will forward them to the Federal Police and then to the Prosecutor General's Office (PGR), which will decide whether to press charges. One example cited is the probe into former president Jair Bolsonaro's disclosure of classified information about electronic voting machines. Analysts say the practical effect may be limited. Moraes also remains STF vice-president for the 2025-2027 term and, if the court's seniority tradition holds, is expected to become its president in September 2027 — a path this decision does not affect.

Cancelled statement and new session

On Thursday, September 10, Moraes's office announced a public statement without disclosing its topic, then cancelled it hours later, saying it would be "rescheduled for an appropriate date." G1, citing sources close to the Court, reported the statement was expected to defend his handling of the inquiry. Estadão, however, offers a different explanation: it reports Moraes stayed silent because Fachin gave him until September 14 to explain to the Court the 51 text messages he exchanged over 21 days with Banco Master executive Daniel Vorcaro. Moraes is expected to argue it cannot be proven the phone used was his — the same defense he used when the contacts first came to light earlier this year. Per Estadão, the Federal Police, at Justice Mendonça's request, confirmed the messages were indeed exchanged with Moraes; Mendonça lifted the confidentiality of that report last week, triggering the crisis.

Fachin has called a plenary session for September 15 to discuss the Federal Police's findings and decide next steps, as well as Mendonça's request to investigate Moraes over his ties to Vorcaro. Estadão sources expect Moraes to take a confrontational stance at that session, seeking to challenge the voting rights of four colleagues — Mendonça, Dias Toffoli, Nunes Marques and Luiz Fux — citing their own alleged links to Vorcaro or Banco Master.