STF Chief Fachin Blocks Fux Access to Fake News Inquiry

Supreme Court President Edson Fachin denied Justice Luiz Fux immediate access to the full Fake News Inquiry on Friday. Fachin stated that 104 linked procedures still require review before the investigation can be archived and documents released.

Fux had ordered the court's judicial secretariat on Thursday to provide complete access to four investigations overseen by Justice Alexandre de Moraes, including the Fake News Inquiry and the coup-plot probe known as Operation Tempus Veritatis. The request came in a case filed by the Progressistas party challenging the probes' validity.

“I need to know the full set of documents to exercise my function without depending on pieces selected and presented by the parties.”

Fux set a 48-hour deadline for the secretariat to deliver the materials, including sealed records. He argued he needed the full case files to rule on the party's petition without relying on selected excerpts.

Fachin responded that three of the four requested case groups are already public and accessible. The restriction applies only to the Fake News Inquiry, which remains under seal while pending procedures are evaluated.

Court sources told O Globo that some justices fear Fux's move could open a new front to challenge Moraes's rulings underpinning the coup-plot convictions. The Progressistas party seeks annulment of acts and evidence in the investigation targeting former President Jair Bolsonaro and 22 others.

Fachin, who assumed the inquiry's rapporteurship on September 9, said he aims to conclude the review and archive the investigation definitively. Full disclosure will follow once procedural requirements are met.

Fux has not yet ruled on the merits of the party's request and reportedly does not intend to decide before the October 25 election runoff.