Congressman probed over Bolsonaro election fraud documents

Federal Police questioned Congressman Alexandre Ramagem, a former head of Brazil’s intelligence agency Abin, about documents found in his emails instructing former President Jair Bolsonaro to cast doubts about Brazil’s voting system. The information was revealed early on Friday by O Globo newspaper. The documents and Mr. Ramagem’s testimony to the Federal Police have not […]

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Federal Police questioned Congressman Alexandre Ramagem, a former head of Brazil’s intelligence agency Abin, about documents found in his emails instructing former President Jair Bolsonaro to cast doubts about Brazil’s voting system.

The information was revealed early on Friday by O Globo newspaper. The documents and Mr. Ramagem’s testimony to the Federal Police have not been made public.

Mr. Ramagem, a career Federal Police officer, led Abin from 2019 to 2022. He is currently running an underdog campaign for mayor of Rio de Janeiro as Mr. Bolsonaro’s handpicked candidate, trailing far behind incumbent Eduardo Paes in the polls. 

Mr. Ramagem is also being investigated for conducting an illegal spying scheme on journalists and public officials during his time at Abin. He was interviewed by the Federal Police on July 17, days after the latest operation in the case.

Last week, a Supreme Court justice unsealed an audio recording made by Mr. Ramagem during an August 2020 meeting with then-President Jair Bolsonaro. The recording shows both men discussing sensitive intelligence to help the former president’s eldest son, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, avoid criminal prosecution.

In January, during an earlier phase of the investigation, Mr. Ramagem was the target of a search and seizure warrant. 

One of the documents found in Mr. Ramagem’s emails reads: “From everything I have researched, I am absolutely certain that there was fraud in the 2018 elections, with you [Mr. Bolsonaro] winning in the first round.” Mr. Bolsonaro faced a runoff in the 2018 election against Fernando Haddad.

The newspaper does not specify the date of the documents. Back in March 2020, during a speech in Miami, Mr. Bolsonaro pledged to show evidence that he had supposedly won the 2018 election in the first round. He never fulfilled that promise.

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