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Brazil's Moro questions authenticity of leaked messages

Associated Press
Published | Updated

In this photo released by Brazil's Presidential Press Office, Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro, right, and Justice Minister Sergio Moro attend a military ceremony in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, June 11, 2019. Moro has met with President Jair Bolsonaro, two days after press reports accused him of allegedly coordinating with prosecutors when he was a judge. (Marcos Correa/Brazil's Presidential Press Office via AP)

In this photo released by Brazil's Presidential Press Office, Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro, right, and Justice Minister Sergio Moro attend a military ceremony in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, June 11, 2019. Moro has met with President Jair Bolsonaro, two days after press reports accused him of allegedly coordinating with prosecutors when he was a judge. (Marcos Correa/Brazil's Presidential Press Office via PA)

Brazil's justice minister has questioned the authenticity of leaked personal messages published by a news website that appear to show him when he was still a judge improperly advising prosecutors in a case against ex-President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

The Intercept posted purported chats between then-judge Sergio Moro and ex-prosecutor Carlos Dos Santos Lima in which Moro offers strategy advice to the prosecutor in the corruption case against da Silva. According to the website, the conversation suggests Moro acted "as an informal coordinator" of the prosecution in the process that led to da Silva's conviction for receiving a beachfront apartment as a bribe.

Moro later became justice minister in President Jair Bolsonaro's government.

The Justice Ministry, led by Moro, said it did not recognize the authenticity of the messages.