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Al Arabiya
an hour ago
- Al Arabiya
What to know about the trial of Brazil's former president Jair Bolsonaro
Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro will wear an electronic ankle monitor on orders from the Supreme Court, where he is on trial for allegedly masterminding a coup plot to remain in office despite his defeat in the 2022 election. The case received renewed attention after President Donald Trump directly tied a 50 percent tariff on Brazilian imported goods to Bolsonaro's judicial situation, which Trump called a 'witch hunt.' The Supreme Court's order for Bolsonaro to wear an ankle monitor, among other restrictions, came after Federal Police and prosecutors said Bolsonaro is a flight risk. Authorities, listing multiple social media posts, also accused Bolsonaro of working with his son Eduardo to incite the United States to interfere in the trial and impose sanctions against Brazilian officials. On Friday, the US State Department announced visa restrictions on Brazilian judicial officials, prompting President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's to condemn what he called the 'unacceptable interference of one country in another's justice system.' Here's what you need to know about Bolsonaro's trial: The charges against Bolsonaro. The prosecution accuses Bolsonaro of leading an armed criminal organization attempting to stage a coup and attempting the violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, aggravated damage, and deterioration of listed heritage sites. A federal police investigation placed Bolsonaro at the top of a criminal organization that had been active since at least 2021. Police say that after Bolsonaro's loss to Lula, the organization conspired to overturn the election result. Part of that plot included a plan to kill Lula and a Supreme Court justice, the prosecution alleges. It also says that the Jan. 8 riot, when Bolsonaro supporters ransacked top government buildings a week after Lula took office, was an attempt to force military intervention and oust the new president. Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet says Bolsonaro's actions were not limited to a passive stance of resistance to defeat but were a conscious effort to create an environment conducive to violence and a coup. In the court order unsealed Friday, Justice Alexandre de Moraes said Bolsonaro and his son may also have committed the crimes of coercion during a legal proceeding, obstruction of an investigation involving a criminal organization, and attack on Brazil's sovereignty. What Bolsonaro says: Bolsonaro has repeatedly denied the allegations and asserted that he's the target of political persecution. He has echoed Trump and called the trial a 'witch hunt.' The far-right former leader has now been barred from using social media, but on Thursday he said on X that 'those who challenge the system are being punished, silenced, and isolated.' Regarding the restrictive measures carried out on Friday, Bolsonaro called them a 'supreme humiliation.' 'I never thought about leaving Brazil, I never thought about going to an embassy, but the precautionary measures are because of that,' he told journalists in Brasilia. Next steps: After the prosecution called for a guilty verdict in its final allegations issued Tuesday, the defense will soon present its case, likely in the coming weeks. The panel of Supreme Court justices that opened the trial against Bolsonaro will vote on whether to convict or acquit him. Experts say a decision is expected before the end of the year. A guilty verdict on the coup plot charge carries a sentence of up to 12 years, which could, along with guilty verdicts on other charges, bring decades behind bars. But Antonio José Teixeira Martins, a law professor at Rio de Janeiro State University, said Bolsonaro could be detained even before there's a verdict. 'Whether this happens or not depends on how events unfold from now on—that is, if these new measures prove sufficient to guarantee public order, the application of criminal law, and prevent the risk of escape,' Teixeira Martins said. Brazil's top electoral court has already banned Bolsonaro from running in elections until 2030 over abuse of power while in office and casting unfounded doubts on the country's electronic voting system.
Arab News
2 hours ago
- Arab News
With gavel in hand, Trump chisels away at the power of a compliant Congress
WASHINGTON: 'Mr. President, this is the gavel used to enact the 'big, beautiful bill,'' House Speaker Mike Johnson said at a White House signing ceremony on the Fourth of July. 'I want you to have it,' he said. Handing over the gavel delighted President Donald Trump who, seated behind a desk outdoors, immediately tested it out with a few quick thumps. The moment left a memorable mark on a historic day. The gesture reflected a traditional nod of honor, from one leader to another, a milestone of the Republican Party's priority legislation becoming law. But the imagery also underscored a symbolic transfer of political power, from Capitol Hill to the White House as a compliant Congress is ceding more and more of its prerogative to the presidency. Congress gives Trump what he wants Since Trump's return to the White House in January, and particularly in the past few weeks, Republicans in control of the House and Senate have shown an unusual willingness to give the president of their party what he wants, regardless of the potential risk to themselves, their constituents and Congress itself. Republicans raced to put the big package of tax breaks and spending cuts on Trump's desk by his Independence Day deadline. Senators had quickly confirmed almost all of Trump's outsider Cabinet nominees despite grave reservations over Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary, Pete Hegseth as the Pentagon chief and others. House Republicans pursued Trump's interest in investigating his perceived foes, including investigating Democratic President Joe Biden'suse of the autopen. But at the same time, Congress hit the brakes on one of its own priorities, legislation imposing steep sanctions on Russia over its war on Ukraine, after Trump announced he was allowing President Vladimir Putin an additional 50 days to negotiate a peace deal, dashing hopes for a swifter end to the conflict. This past week, Congress was tested anew, delivering on Trump's request to rescind some $9 billion that lawmakers had approved but that the administration wanted to eliminate, including money for public broadcasting and overseas aid. It was a rare presidential request, a challenge to the legislative branch's power of the purse, that has not been used in decades. The pressure on Republicans is taking its toll 'We're lawmakers. We should be legislating,' said a defiant Sen. Lisa Murkowksi, R-Alaska, as she refused to support the White House's demand to rescind money for National Public Radio and others. 'What we're getting now is a direction from the White House and being told, 'This is the priority. We want you to execute on it. We'll be back with you with another round,'' she said. 'I don't accept that.' Congress, the branch of government the Founding Fathers placed first in the Constitution, is at a familiar crossroads. During the first Trump administration, Republicans frightened by Trump's angry tweets of disapproval would keep their criticisms private. Those who did speak up — Liz Cheney of Wyoming in the House and Mitt Romney of Utah in the Senate, among others — are gone from Capitol Hill. One former GOP senator, Jeff Flake of Arizona, who announced in 2017 during Trump's first term that he would not seek reelection the next year, is imploring Republicans to find a better way. 'The fever still hasn't broken,' he wrote recently in The New York Times. 'In today's Republican Party, voting your conscience is essentially disqualifying.' Seeking a 'normal' Congress But this time, the halls of Congress are filled with many Republicans who came of political age with Trump's 'Make America Great Again' movement and owe their ascent to the president himself. Many are emulating his brand and style as they shape their own. A new generation of GOP leaders, Johnson in the House and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, have pulled closer to Trump. They are utilizing the power of the presidency in ways large and small — to broker deals, encourage wayward lawmakers to fall in line, even to set schedules. Johnson, R-Louisiana, has openly pined for what he calls a 'normal Congress.' But short of that, the speaker relies on Trump to help stay on track. When Republicans hit an impasse on cryptocurrency legislation, a Trump priority, it was the president who met with holdouts in the Oval Office late Tuesday night as Johnson called in by phone. The result is a perceptible imbalance of power as the executive exerts greater authority while the legislative branch dims. The judicial branch has been left to do the heavy lift of checks and balances with the courts processing hundreds of lawsuits over the administration's actions. 'The genius of our Constitution is the separation of power,' said Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, the former speaker, in an interview on SiriusXM's 'Mornings with Zerlina.' 'That the Republicans in Congress would be so ignoring of the institution that they represent, and that have just melted the power of the incredibly shrinking speakership' and Senate leadership positions, 'to do all of these things, to cater to the executive branch,' she said. Confronting Trump comes with costs Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., endured Trump's criticism over his opposition to the tax and spending cuts bill. The senator raised concerns about steep cuts to hospitals, but the president threatened to campaign against him. Tillis announced he would not seek reelection in 2026. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, voted against that bill and the rescissions package despite Trump's threat to campaign against any dissenters. One Republican, Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, appears to be pressing on, unphased. He recently proposed legislation to force the administration to release the Jeffrey Epstein files, something the president had been reluctant to do. 'Nowhere in the Constitution does it say that if the president wants something, you must do it,' said Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, in a Senate speech. 'We don't have to do this. We don't have to operate under the assumption that this man is uniquely so powerful.'
Arab News
16 hours ago
- Arab News
Pakistan's finance chief eyes ‘step-change' US investment after Washington trade talks
KARACHI: Pakistan and the United States are exploring a shift in their economic engagement from a trade-focused relationship to one anchored in long-term investment, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said in a video message after high-level talks in Washington on Friday. The meeting between Aurangzeb, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer followed a virtual discussion last month during which both sides agreed to push negotiations forward 'at the earliest.' The talks come after the US imposed a 29 percent 'reciprocal tariff' on Pakistani exports under President Donald Trump's trade measures announced in April, a move Islamabad said could undercut its fragile, export-led recovery. 'One thing we discussed was that we have to move beyond the immediate trade imperative for it to be brought into the next level and bring in a real step change,' Aurangzeb said after his interaction with US officials. 'So, the investment imperative will come forward, and areas have already been identified in terms of minerals and mining, in terms of AI [artificial intelligence], in terms of digital infrastructure [and] crypto,' he continued. 'We feel that this will be a real game changer, God willing, in terms of the relationship and the economic relationship between Pakistan and the United States.' The Pakistani finance chief said both sides were committed to resolving outstanding trade issues to move 'toward the finishing line' and begin investment-related discussions 'very quickly.' He also hinted at forthcoming announcements 'at the leadership level,' which he said would reflect all the hard work and efforts that have been put in both by Pakistan and on the US side. 'We begin with trade, and then it will very quickly be followed through with investment discussions between the two countries and real execution of the investment upside,' he said, calling the next phase a 'real win-win for Pakistan and the United States.' Pakistan's finance ministry has said the US remains its largest trading partner while emphasizing Islamabad's interest in expanding cooperation beyond textiles to other sectors. The US is Pakistan's top export destination, with shipments totaling $5.44 billion in the 2023-24 fiscal year. From July 2024 to February 2025, exports rose 10 percent from a year earlier, according to official data.
