The Audio Recording is Useless, Says the Private Expert Temer's Team Hired to Examine the Tape

05/23/2017 - 13h46

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FROM BRASÍLIA

Afraid of suffering a loss that would erode his base of support even more, President Michel Temer withdrew an appeal from the Federal Supreme Court (STF) requesting the suspension of the investigation against him after the plea-bargain testimony from executives from J&F, the holding company of JBS meatpacking.

To strengthen his defense, however, he ordered an inspection to examine the recording turned in by businessman Joesley Batista, which was used by the Federal General Prosecutor in its accusation.

The private expert Temer's team hired to examine the tape, Ricardo Molina, declared in a report that the recording is "useless as evidence". During a press conference, he even said that the Federal Prosecutor's Office is "naïve" and "incompetent" for using the conversation as evidence in its request for an investigation.

For Molina, the audio recording is compromised by many discontinuities, lots of inaudible spaces and "possibly by editing".

Before Temer's defense team had decided definitively to withdraw their request for a suspension of the investigation, the President of the STF, Cármen Lúcia, had denied their request for an immediate interruption of the investigation. She determined that the proceedings needed to wait for the conclusion of an inspection of the audio recording being carried out by the Federal Police.

Pedro Ladeira/Folhapress Ricardo Molina

In the investigation, the Federal Prosecutor's Office lists other accusations against the President, including the receipt of R$ 500 thousand (US$ 154 thousand) from his ally, Congressman Rodrigo Rocha Loures (Brazilian Democratic Movement Party).

Temer is now looking to gain approval for his package of economic measures to recover his popular support and that of the markets.

Translated by LLOYD HARDER

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