Moraes Steps Aside as Senate Visitor-Records Dispute Moves Forward

Moraes Steps Aside as Senate Visitor-Records Dispute Moves Forward
Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes has declared himself unable to hear a case seeking Senate entry and exit records for eight people, including his wife, lawyer Viviane Barci de Moraes, and former banker Daniel Vorcaro. The case will be sent to the court’s presidency for reassignment to another justice.

Moraes framed the decision as a legal obligation rather than a ruling on the requested records. In his order, he wrote: “On the basis of article 144, IV, of the Code of Civil Procedure, I declare myself unable to act in this case.” The cited provision requires judges to step aside in cases involving, among other circumstances, a spouse as a party.

The underlying lawsuit was brought by Curitiba city councilman Guilherme Kilter, of the Novo party, after the Senate denied his access-to-information requests. Kilter is seeking dates and times of visits between February 2019 and February 2026 by Viviane Barci de Moraes, Vorcaro, Fábio Luís Lula da Silva and five others. He contends that disclosure would allow scrutiny of meetings at the upper house and assist oversight of alleged irregularities.

The Senate, by contrast, has argued that access logs are personal data. It cited Brazil’s access-to-information regulations and data-protection law in declining the requests, according to the account of the case.

The matter reached the Supreme Court after a federal judge in Paraná concluded that the lower court lacked jurisdiction because Senate President Davi Alcolumbre was named as responsible in the suit. Moraes had been selected by the court’s system before recusing himself; a new rapporteur is now to be chosen by lottery.

Online reaction has been more combative than the judicial order itself. Commentator Paulo Figueiredo described the episode as Moraes being caught in “another lie” and said his position was “unsustainable,” without offering evidence in the post for that broader allegation.

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