AGU calls for investigation into alleged Trump government financing of groups in Brazil

The AGU forwarded the investigation request to the Federal Police and the Attorney General's Office. In the criminal report, the AGU states that it was aware of the report in the English newspaper “The Guardian”, entitled “Trump government diverts resources destined for human rights to promote an extreme right agenda abroad”.

The AGU highlights that the report provides "evidence of a possible directing of public funds from the United States government to organizations operating in Brazilian territory, with the aim of financing groups aimed at interfering in political and institutional debate and delegitimizing the Federal Supreme Court, under the supposed pretext of combating censorship and alleged judicial abuses". The Attorney General’s document also says:

In the report, the newspaper “The Guardian” revealed that the Trump administration allocated more than US$176 million to 43 initiatives in other countries. The money is from a State Department fund. According to the newspaper, the American government set aside resources, for example, to support ideological allies in Europe and mentioned countries such as Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary. The State Department also set aside money for a group that advocates for white rights in South Africa.

Regarding Brazil, the report mentions a budget of US$ 1 million - the equivalent of more than R$ 5 million - to combat what it calls the instrumentalization of Justice and censorship in Brazil. The newspaper claims that the money would finance civil society groups that oppose what is described as excessive judicial action and censorship by Brazil's Supreme Court. The report does not detail which Brazilian organizations would have benefited, nor does it confirm whether the funds have already been transferred to the entities.

In the investigation request, the AGU states that "the information about American government financing is especially serious in view of the ongoing Brazilian electoral process and recent episodes of external pressure on Brazilian institutions, as widely reported, which includes the application of sanctions to national authorities".

The document also states that, "if proven, the receipt of foreign capital to promote orderly and systematic attacks on national sovereignty and the functioning of the institutions of the Brazilian Justice system could reveal a structure of external interference in the internal affairs of the Brazilian State, requiring the identification of possible recipients of resources in national territory to assess possible criminal liability".

This Thursday (1st), questioned at the White House, Donald Trump said that he is following the election in Brazil very closely. Without naming any candidate, he stated that the country and the election are very important.