NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
The Treasury Department announced Wednesday that it would be officially imposing sanctions on Brazilian Supreme Federal Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, the jurist leading a criminal investigation against former right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro.
News of the sanctions comes after President Trump threatened a 50% tariff on products from Brazil unless the country stopped what Trump has described as an “unjust” and politically motivated case against Bolsonaro that is charging the former Brazilian president with organizing an attempted coup. A notice announcing the sanctions from the Treasury Department alleged De Moraes has been using his position to authorize “arbitrary” pre-trial detentions, suppress freedom of speech and target political opponents.
“Alexandre de Moraes has taken it upon himself to be judge and jury in an unlawful witch hunt against U.S. and Brazilian citizens and companies,” Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent. “De Moraes is responsible for an oppressive campaign of censorship, arbitrary detentions that violate human rights, and politicized prosecutions—including against former President Jair Bolsonaro.”
“Today’s action makes clear that Treasury will continue to hold accountable those who threaten U.S. interests and the freedoms of our citizens,” Bessent added.
TRUMP CALLS FOR IMMEDIATE END TO ‘UNJUST’ TRIAL OF FORMER BRAZILIAN PRESIDENT JAIR BOLSONARO
President Trump sent a letter to former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro earlier this month, calling for an immediate end to the ‘unjust’ trial against him for allegedly starting a coup. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci; Evaristo Sa/AFP via Getty Images)
As a result of the sanctions, all of De Moraes’s property and assets that are located within the United States, or that are in the possession of any U.S. persons, have been frozen. That also includes any assets where De Moraes has a 50% or more stake.
Any corporations or financial institutions that engage in certain transactions or activities deemed to violate the sanctions against De Morae also risk exposure to sanctions themselves, the Treasury Department also indicated.
The Trump administration’s sanctions against De Moraes stem from the president’s first-term Executive Order 13818, which declared a national emergency with respect to human rights abuses and corruption around the world. The 2017 executive order, according to the Treasury Department, builds on the Global Magnitsky…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at FOX News : Politics…