A crisis in Brazil's Supreme Court deepened Thursday as President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called for an all-out probe of a corruption scandal threatening to tarnish its most prominent judge.
A police report released Tuesday contained text messages sent by a disgraced banker at the center of the scandal to a number attributed to that judge, Alexandre de Moraes.
The purpose of the messages was apparently to halt a probe that would ultimately lead to the arrest in November of the banker, Daniel Vorcaro.
Vorcaro presided over the collapse of Banco Master, which left $7 billion in debt to thousands of investors in one of the biggest financial scandals in Brazil's history.
One of Brazil's most powerful and polarizing figures, Moraes oversaw the trial of rightwing ex-president Jair Bolsonaro, who was convicted of plotting a coup to stay in power after losing the 2022 election.
Moraes repeatedly has taken aim at the far right and its figurehead Bolsonaro, and drawn the wrath of US President Donald Trump for what the latter saw as a "witch hunt" against his loyal ally in Brazil.
The WhatsApp text messages were released after another Supreme Court justice, Andre Mendonca, ordered the unsealing of the records of the scandal involving Vorcaro, so as to clarify if the text messages were actually sent to Moraes.
"It is essential that everyone is investigated," Lula wrote on X, "no matter who it hurts." He was referring to the probe of Vorcaro's ties with people in politics and the courts.
In a new twist, Moraes called Thursday for a probe of Mendonca, accusing him of abuse of power and "favoring certain political groups."
Mendonca was appointed by Bolsonaro, who ruled from 2019 to 2023.