Call For Brazil President Michel Temer's Impeachment Grows, Trial To Begin June 6

Brazil plunged into political crisis Wednesday as President Michel Temer faced calls for his impeachment. Temer who took office on August 31, 2016, after former President Dilma Rousseff's impeachment, is accused of being involved in a corruption scandal, reports said.

A report by Brazilian media giant O Globo stated that Joesley Batista, chief executive of J&F Investments, which controls JBS Holdings, a meatpacking company, met Temer on March 7. According to the report, Batista secretly recorded the conversation where Temer is heard telling him to bribe Eduardo Cunha, the former president of the Chamber of Deputies of Brazil, who orchestrated Dilma Rousseff's impeachment and is currently serving a 15-year jail term for his involvement in a corruption scam.

Read: Corruption In Brazil: President Michel Temer Says No Amnesty For Corrupt Politicians

Batista handed over the evidence to Supreme Court, Wednesday, reported O Globo.

Soon after the news broke, President’s office released a statement confirming Temer and Batista's meeting; however, denying all allegations against Temer. The statement said: “President Michel Temer never solicited payments to obtain the silence of former [Congress] deputy Eduardo Cunha. He never participated and never authorized any action with the objective of avoiding testimony or cooperation with the justice system by the former member.”

Although O Globo did not specify how and when it got the information, it did reveal that the piece came from a plea-bargain deal between Batista and the prosecutors in a graft investigation.

The newspaper also claimed that police had audio as well as video evidence of Temer’s supporter negotiating bribes with JBS worth $160,000 a week for 20 years in return for helping JBS solve a problem with fair trade office, reported the Guardian.

Anti-Temer protests

Several protesters set out on the streets of Sao Paulo city expressing their anger, raising slogans against the president saying, “Temer Out,” the Strait Times reported.

“We came here after the accusations that came out... We already knew, but now there is a video, there is proof that the president committed a crime,” said a protester.

Meanwhile, Congressman Alessandro Molon of the Rede party called for Temer’s impeachment and urged Rodrigo Maia, speaker of the lower house to look into it.

Court to decide Temer's future

Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court will start the trial process on June 6 that could lead to the Temer's impeachment — if he's proven guilty. During the trial, the court will decide if Dilma Rousseff and Michel Temer's 2014 re-election campaign made use of illegal funds. If convicted, Temer might lose his office.

Prosecutors have called for the suspension of Rousseff's political rights for eight years along with Temer's impeachment, reports said.