Brazilian President Michel Temer is resisting calls from an outraged public to step down, following the release of a tape a newspaper says features Temer discussing making payments to a former politician jailed for corruption.
"At no time did I authorize the paying of anyone," he said in a national address Thursday. "I did not buy anybody's silence. I will not resign." On Wednesday, the Globo newspaper reported on the existence of the recording, and the Supreme Federal Tribunal, Brazil's highest court, opened an investigation and lifted a seal on the tape. The recording is hard to understand in several places, but two men — reported to be Temer and Joesley Batista, a meatpacking company executive — are heard talking about Eduardo Cunha, the former lawmaker. The man believed to be Temer can be heard saying Cunha has information that could embarrass him, but "I settled everything. He came and collected, etc., etc., etc. I am good friends with Eduardo, okay?"
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
RFK Jr. names new CDC head as staff revoltSpeed Read Kennedy installed his deputy, Jim O'Neill, as acting CDC director
-
DC prosecutors lose bid to indict sandwich throwerSpeed Read Prosecutors sought to charge Sean Dunn with assaulting a federal officer
-
White House fires new CDC head amid agency exodusSpeed Read CDC Director Susan Monarez was ousted after butting heads with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccines
-
DOGE put Social Security data at risk, official saysSpeed Read DOGE workers made the personal information of hundreds of millions of Americans vulnerable to identity theft
-
Court rejects Trump suit against Maryland US judgesSpeed Read Judge Thomas Cullen, a Trump appointee, said the executive branch had no authority to sue the judges
-
Trump expands National Guard role in policingSpeed Read The president wants the Guard to take on a larger role in domestic law enforcement
-
Trump says he's firing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa CookSpeed Read The move is likely part of Trump's push to get the central bank to cut interest rates
-
Abrego released from jail, faces Uganda deportationSpeed Read The wrongly deported Kilmar Abrego García is expected to be detained at an ICE check-in and deported to Uganda
