Former President Jair Bolsonaro has been accused of actively attempting to infiltrate Brazil's electronic voting system and expose its vulnerabilities, according to testimony from a hacker named Walter Delgatti Neto. The hacker stated that Bolsonaro not only asked if it was possible to hack the system but also promised a presidential pardon if he was caught. Delgatti Neto further claimed that Bolsonaro requested him to take responsibility for wiretapping a top court justice who was investigating the former president.
Bolsonaro, known for spreading conspiracies and baseless claims about the electronic voting system throughout his presidency, has now been accused of going beyond mere rhetoric and actively participating in efforts to undermine Brazil's election system prior to the last October's contest. These allegations are considered some of the most direct evidence so far of his involvement in these activities.
In response to the testimony, Bolsonaro's spokesperson, Fabio Wajngarten, denied the allegations, stating that Delgatti Neto was lying. Wajngarten dismissed any suggestions of illegal or anti-democratic activities against political entities, claiming that Bolsonaro always followed the law. He also questioned the credibility of the claims against a president who, according to him, would not ask to rig an election.
However, these allegations only add to the mounting legal troubles faced by Bolsonaro. The country's chief electoral authority has already banned him from seeking public office for eight years, and last week, Federal Police requested the unsealing of banking and tax records as part of an investigation into whether Bolsonaro attempted to sell gifts received during his presidency.
The Brazilian authorities have also detained several of Bolsonaro's allies as part of separate investigations aiming to gather evidence on whether Bolsonaro and his government officials were aware of or involved in attempts to overturn the election results. These developments, combined with the congressional probe, are shedding light on the potential involvement of the former president and his government in various illicit activities.
During his testimony, Delgatti Neto revealed that Bolsonaro met with him at the presidential residence and asked if it was possible to hack a single ballot during the country's September independence day celebrations. Bolsonaro allegedly assured him that if caught, a presidential pardon would be granted. Furthermore, Bolsonaro instructed Delgatti Neto to provide technical details on hacking the ballot to the Ministry of Defense, which was conducting an investigation into election security.
The potential manipulation of a single ballot could have fueled Bolsonaro's ongoing efforts to cast doubt on Brazil's voting system leading up to the closely contested election. Additionally, Delgatti Neto claimed that in a subsequent phone call, Bolsonaro confessed to wiretapping Justice Alexandre de Moraes, the head of Brazil's top electoral court, and requested that the hacker take responsibility for the illegal activity.
While Delgatti Neto did not provide direct evidence to support his claims, he did mention names of people who he alleged witnessed these requests. Brazil's Supreme Court, of which Moraes is a member, declined to comment on the matter, and the Ministry of Defense has yet to respond to Delgatti Neto's allegations.