Weekly Report - 06 August 2009 (WR-09-31)

The leaking of a telephone conversation between family members of José Sarney, the president of Brazil's senate, has prompted public accusations between Brazilian authorities. The justice minister, Tarso Genro, accused lawyers of leaking classified tapes to the press, prompting a rebuke from the Brazilian Attorneys' Order (OAB). The supreme-court president, Gilmar Mendes, sided with the OAB and said the source of leaks were the federal police, which are under Genro's control. The judiciary argued that the Sarney clan managed to censure newspapers that run stories against them, while also keeping control of the coverage of the corruption allegations surrounding Sarney in their home state of Maranhão.