President Donald Trump’s Treasury Department is intervening to punish a judge in Brazil who is overseeing the trial of Jair Bolsonaro, the former president of that country and a hard-right MAGA ally, reported the Wall Street Journal.
Trump’s administration announced sanctions against the judge, Alexandre De Moraes, who sits on a Supreme Court panel overseeing the charges against Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro is accused of orchestrating a violent mob against the government following his re-election loss, in a similar manner to the Jan. 6 attack in the United States.
At the same time, Trump’s administration announced 50 percent tariffs against Brazil in retaliation for the criminal case.
“In a fact sheet, the White House said the tariffs would address Brazil’s policies toward U.S. tech companies, including ‘unusual and extraordinary policies and actions harming U.S. companies, the free speech rights of U.S. persons, U.S. foreign policy, and the U.S. economy,’” said the report. Furthermore, “the executive order found that Brazilian legal action against Bolsonaro has ‘undermined the rule of law in Brazil.’”
Trump has repeatedly attacked the case against Bolsonaro. Earlier this month, when he initially levied the 50 percent tariff threat, he proclaimed in a post on social media, “I knew and dealt with former President Jair Bolsonaro, and respected him greatly, as did most other Leaders of Countries. The way that Brazil has treated former President Bolsonaro, a Highly Respected Leader throughout the World during his term, including by the United States, is an international disgrace. This Trial should not be taking place. It is a Witch Hunt that should end IMMEDIATELY!”
The Brazilian government has denied these claims by Trump.
“The legal proceedings against those who planned the coup d’état are the sole jurisdiction of the Brazilian courts and, therefore, are not subject to any type of interference or threat that violates the independence of national institutions,” said President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. “In the context of digital platforms, Brazilian society rejects hateful content, racism, child pornography, scams, fraud, and speeches that violate human rights and democratic freedom.”