The former attorney general of Brazil said he believes the government of Michel Temer removed him from his post in order to sink the ongoing corruption probe investigating the massive corruption scandal involving the country’s state oil company.
“I have no doubt that I was fired because the government wants to contain the investigation,” Fábio Medina Osório told Veja magazine.
Upon taking office, the Temer regime cleaned house, removing all of Rousseff’s ministers.
Osório was chosen for the post by Temer and appointed as attorney general in May after the Brazilian Congress voted to proceed with impeachment proceedings against democratically elected President Dilma Rousseff.
Osório never served under Rousseff and is not seen as a sympathizer of Brazil’s left. He was removed from his post on Friday and replaced by Grace Mendonça, the first woman in what was an all-male cabinet.
Osório told Veja in an interview immediately after his dismissal that he believes Temer and his ministers “fear that the investigation will go far.”
The former attorney general said he intended to open an investigation into the possible role of high-ranking officials and politicians in the scandal.
He said he met stiff resistance from the regime when he requested access to the corruption probe. Although the Supreme Court authorized access for Osório, he never received a hard drive containing the case files.
Osório had a discussion with Temer’s chief of staff, Eliseu Padilha, who told him that the reason for the delay was because he could not find a portable hard drive.
Osório was dismissed shortly afterward.
A number of Temer’s ministers and closest associates face corruption allegations. Three of his ministers were forced to step down over their links to the corruption scandal.
Romero Jucá was the first to step down after it emerged that he had conspired with the Supreme Court and military commanders to ensure Rousseff’s ouster as part of a plot to put a stop to the corruption probe.
Osório’s allegations provide further evidence that Rousseff’s impeachment had little to do with her alleged misdeeds, but rather was driven by politicians seeking to protect themselves.
Temer himself is embroiled in corruption allegations and barred from running for public office for eight years for violating election laws.
teleSUR
