Brazil Senate leader ignores supreme court order to vacate office

Brazil's Senate President Renan Calheiros on Tuesday declined to comply with an order from the Brazilian Supreme Court (STF) suspending him as leader of the upper house.

Calheiros, who has been charged with embezzlement and is a member of the ruling Brazilian Democratic Movement Party, received the support of fellow legislators.

"Calheiros refused to sign the notification after the Senate Board released a ruling" granting Calheiros a reprieve to put together his defense, Agencia Brasil (EBC) reported.

On Monday, supreme court Judge Marco Aurelio Mello suspended the senator after the court last week upheld embezzlement charges brought against him in 2013.

The full court was expected to validate the decision to strip Calheiros of the presidency some time this week.

Also on Tuesday, the Senate appealed to the court to reverse Mello's decision.

The senator is accused of inflating his monthly expense account with fake receipts to pay child support for a daughter he had from an extramarital relationship.

Calheiros also "faces 11 counts of corruption at the supreme court," all stemming from Operation Car Wash, an ongoing investigation into graft at state-run oil company Petrobras, according to the EBC.

In November, most of the court voted in favor of barring people who have been indicted of a crime from holding public posts that place them in the presidential line of succession.

The Senate's current first vice president, Jorge Vianna of the opposition Workers Party, stands to become president of the upper house if Calheiros is ousted.

source: Xinhua