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Brazil court suspends Lower House Speaker Eduardo Cunha | |
(35 minutes later) | |
Brazil's top court has suspended Lower House Speaker Eduardo Cunha from his mandate, following a request by the country's attorney general, officials say. | |
He has been accused of trying to obstruct corruption investigations against him and intimidate congressmen. | He has been accused of trying to obstruct corruption investigations against him and intimidate congressmen. |
Mr Cunha is an outspoken critic of President Dilma Rousseff and has led an impeachment drive against her. | Mr Cunha is an outspoken critic of President Dilma Rousseff and has led an impeachment drive against her. |
In a BBC interview, Ms Rousseff has vowed to "keep fighting". | In a BBC interview, Ms Rousseff has vowed to "keep fighting". |
She is likely to be suspended from office for 180 days in a Senate vote next week. | |
Mr Cunha is formerly accused of bribery and money laundering as part of Operation Car Wash, or Lava Jato, which looks into a corruption scheme at the state-owned oil company, Petrobras. | |
He is accused of taking $5m (£3.2m) in bribes to secure contracts with the company. He denies the allegations. | |
Under Brazil's constitution, he was the third in line for the presidency. | |
Mr Cunha has not commented on his suspension. | |
He is a major figure in Vice-President Michel Temer's PMDB party. | |
If the Senate decides to open an impeachment trial against Ms Rousseff, Mr Temer will take over as interim president. | |
Ms Rousseff has accused Mr Temer and Mr Cunha of being the ringleaders of the "coup" attempt against her. She is accused of manipulating the federal budget, which she denies. | |
Waldir Maranhao, also under investigation by Operation Car Wash, is to become the next Speaker of the House. |