Brazilian Criminal Complaint Against
Glenn Greenwald as an Attack on Free
Press
By The Intercept
January 21, 2020 "Information
Clearing House" - On Tuesday,
a federal prosecutor in Brazil announced
a denunciation of American journalist
and Intercept co-founder Glenn Greenwald
related to his work on a series of
stories published on
The Intercept and
The Intercept Brasil. The
denunciation is a criminal
complaint that would open the door to
further judicial proceedings. It
alleges that Greenwald “directly
assisted, encouraged and guided”
individuals who reportedly obtained
access to online chats used by
prosecutors and others involved in
Operation Car Wash, a yearslong,
sprawling anti-corruption investigation
that roiled Brazilian politics.
The denunciation will now go before a
judge who can approve or deny the
request for charges.
The Intercept and Greenwald both
released statements Tuesday decrying the
federal prosecutor’s accusation as an
attack on Brazil’s free press in line
with recent abuses by the government of
far-right President Jair Bolsonaro.
Abuses committed by Justice Minister
Sergio Moro when he served as the
presiding judge in Operation Car Wash
were central to The Intercept’s
reporting in the Brazil Secret Archive
series.
“The Bolsonaro government has repeatedly
made it clear that it does not believe
in basic press freedoms. Today’s
announcement that a criminal complaint
has been filed against Intercept
co-founding editor Glenn Greenwald is
the latest example of journalists facing
serious threats in Brazil,” The
Intercept said in its statement, which
can be read below in full. “We are
appalled that Brazil’s Public Ministry
has decided to file such a blatantly
politically motivated charge against
Greenwald, in apparent retaliation for
The Intercept’s critical reporting on
abuses committed by Justice Minister
Moro and several federal prosecutors.”
“We at The Intercept see this as an
attempt to criminalize not only our
journalism but also that of the dozens
of partners who collaborated with our
staff in over 95 stories based on the
archives,” The Intercept said. “There is
no democracy without a free press, and
defenders of the press everywhere should
be deeply concerned about Bolsonaro’s
latest authoritarian move.”
Greenwald denied the charges in his
statement, citing a previous Brazilian
Federal Police investigation that
concluded he had committed no crimes and
noted his “careful and distant posture
regarding the execution” of the alleged
hacks.
