how Moraes’s shadow cabinet censored Gettr

A new chapter of the “Vaza Toga” series sheds light on the clandestine machinery that operated within Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court (STF) and Electoral Superior Court (TSE), all under the influence of justice Alexandre de Moraes.

Message exchanges exclusively obtained by Oeste reveal that in October 2022, close aides to the justice plotted to block Gettr, the social network created by entrepreneur Jason Miller, former advisor to then-U.S. president Donald Trump.

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On October 3, 2022, just two days after the first round of the elections, judge Airton Vieira, who served as a judicial advisor to Moraes at the STF, sent a message to Eduardo Tagliaferro, then head of the TSE’s Special Unit for Combating Disinformation, requesting Gettr’s block. The request arose after Vieira mistook a post by Allan dos Santos on X (formerly Twitter) for a publication made on Gettr.

Tagliaferro corrected the misinformation but then proceeded to forward posts that were, in fact, published on Jason Miller’s network.

Vieira insisted: “So, please, find a way to block Gettr. Thank you”.

Tagliaferro responded:

“Many people are hiding there because there’s no punishment”.

The idea of suspending the platform was already circulating among Moraes’s aides. Vieira instructed that the blocking request should be appended to Petition 9,935, a case under Moraes’s purview at the STF that already dealt with measures against Telegram, based on Brazil’s Civil Rights Framework for the Internet (Marco Civil da Internet).

Months earlier, in March 2022, Moraes had ordered the suspension of Telegram nationwide, alleging the company had failed to comply with judicial orders. The measure was revoked two days later when the platform agreed to the demands imposed by the justice. This case served as a precedent for what was being orchestrated against Gettr.

Report ready for censorship

On the same date, October 3, 2022, Tagliaferro sent Vieira the report that would serve as the foundation for the Gettr blocking request. “Let me know if I need to make any changes, please,” wrote the TSE aide.

Vieira praised:

“It’s great, Eduardo! Truly great! The problem now is the block. Do you know if Gettr has a representative office in Brazil? Lol”.

Tagliaferro explained that the company had no office in the country and suggested replicating the model applied to Telegram: completely suspend the social network until it bowed to the Supreme Court’s orders.

“Last night, he [Moraes] said he’d block it, lol,” Tagliaferro added, making it clear that the justice had already expressed his full support for the measure.

The offensive against Allan dos Santos

Four days later, on October 7, 2022, Tagliaferro shared with Vieira an official communication from Gettr. The platform stated it had received an STF order to block the profiles of judge Ludmila Lins Grillo and journalist Allan dos Santos.

Tagliaferro mocked:

“Dr. Airton, what a heart of stone! See? It worked. Now we can get these guys on Gettr. They thought they were untouchable”.

Why the attempt to block Gettr is illegal

• STF cannot issue orders to the TSE
  The Supreme Court does not exert hierarchical power over the Electoral Justice. Using TSE servers and structures for censorship and repression purposes exceeds constitutional competencies and constitutes a misuse of TSE’s mandate.
• Usurpation of authority
  The STF usurped investigative and prosecutorial functions, which legally belong to the Federal Police and the Public Prosecutor’s Office. A judge cannot investigate and judge simultaneously.
• Violation of the Brazilian Civil Rights Framework for the Internet
  Law 12,965/2014 provides for targeted content removal, never the blocking of an entire social network. A total suspension would be disproportionate and abusive.
• Lack of due process
  The orders originated from private conversations in WhatsApp groups, without adversarial proceedings or ample defense, which flouts Article 5 of the Constitution.
• Biased judge
  Airton Vieira and other advisors anticipated the intended outcome (blocking), thus compromising the impartiality that the law demands of a magistrate.
• Prior censorship
  Blocking a social network for political opinions violates Article 220 of the Constitution, which prohibits censorship of any nature.
• Misuse of TSE’s mandate
  The Electoral Superior Court’s disinformation unit was used outside the electoral period and for criminal purposes, far exceeding its legal competence.

What is “Vaza Toga”?

The information and documents revealed in this report, exclusively obtained by Oeste, add grave new details to the facts that began to surface with the revelations initially published by the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo in what became known as “Vaza Toga” (something like “Robe Leaks”).

The first allegations were made by Glenn Greenwald and Fábio Serapião, as previously reported by Oeste. New compromising documents have since come to light through investigations by David Ágape and Eli Vieira, published on the Public website.