Arguments and Doubts about Philip Martins' American Tour

Former Presidential Adviser Philip Martins He was arrested by the Federal Police on February 8 under the pretext ofStrong evidence” he fled Brazil. According to PF, the escape would have taken place through the plane carrying the then President Jair Bolsonaro and other advisors in the US by the end of 2022.

Martins is being investigated for acting within a “Legal basis” who prepared opinions supporting the challenge to President Lula's election and even arranged for the arrest of Supreme Court ministers. Since 2023, he has been a frequent political commentator and user of social media, and has disappeared. Even his closest associates have said they don't know where the former adviser is. There is a recent picture of him at a custodial hearing after his arrest, which illustrates this statement.

Since his arrest, Philippe Martins' defense has argued that he was not on a flight to the United States, with ex-assistant Mauro Cid and a US government agency certifying that he was on the passenger list. The ex-consultant entered the country on December 30, 2022.

On the 15th, Latham confirmed that Martins was on a flight to Curitiba on December 31, which his lawyers say precludes him from being on the plane that took the presidential delegation the day before.

Weighing against the ex-consultant fugitive version is the lack of a record with immigration control (which, for the PF, would be evidence of evasion to avoid potential criminal liability) and the Access to Information Act information. The federal government has released the names of all passengers on that flight — and Martins is not on the list.

differences

However, some points are considered discrepancies and inconsistencies by investigators, who are trying to understand what actually happened at the end of 2022.

One of them indicated that during the February operation, agents visited an address linked to Martins's parents. When they were questioned, their son said.Living abroadWithout giving further details”, the PF statement said.

There were also conflicting versions about Martins current residence. When approached, ​​the doorman at his girlfriend's building pointed out that he was a visitor and not a resident, according to the PF – a few days later, he said he lived there.

Also, during the precautionary period, Martins said he had arrived at the apartment the night before, which would justify the small amount of clothes in the closet. He also said that at the end of the Bolsonaro government, he took a “sabbatical year” and lived in Sao Paulo and Balneario Camphoriu (SC) in places rented through Airbnb.

“The information collected by the project team, the absence of clothes and other personal items, reinforces the fact that Philippe Martins does not live in that place. Also, when trying to explain his whereabouts, the person under investigation said that he lived in the state of São Paulo. Strangely, I couldn't tell which city”, said the PF statement.

Amid suspicions, Minister Alexandre de Moraes ordered the cancellation of all passports issued in the name of Philippe Martin – during the search, the documents were not found. Moraes also asked Inframérica for pictures of the shipments on December 30 and 31, 2022. However, the concessionaire informed that the records are only stored for 30 days.

Thus, the Attorney General's office raised the question Brazilian Air Force (FAB) On December 30th official flight images were saved and information about Phillip Martins' entry and exit records was requested from the US government through diplomatic channels. Only after these new proceedings will it be decided whether or not Bolsonaro's former adviser will be freed.