Brazilian Senator Flávio Bolsonaro told the American newspaper The New York Times that he arranged his departure from Brazil on his own after the presidential defeat to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The interview was published on November 5.
Flávio denied receiving help from governments, but Jason Miller, an adviser linked to the White House, had confirmed that he arranged the plane used by the senator and his family. The senator said he would not disclose details of the trip.
His departure came after Alexandre de Moraes, a justice of Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court, ordered the senator to surrender his passports. Flávio left Brazil across the border into Argentina and arrived in the United States on a private jet, with a stopover in Ecuador.
In the interview, the senator said he believed he would be arrested if he remained in Brazil and denied wrongdoing in the cases in which he is under investigation. US lawmakers are demanding clarification about the possible involvement of US officials in the trip. The State Department has until November 13 to respond.
