Dilma Rousseff takes impeachment fight to Supreme Court

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has taken her battle to survive impeachment to the Supreme Court in a last-ditch attempt to stay in office a day before the Senate is expected to vote to try her for breaking budget laws.

Brazil's Attorney General Eduardo Cardozo, the government's top lawyer, asked the Supreme Court to annul impeachment proceedings on Tuesday, his office said.

Cardozo's move comes ahead of the trial that could see Rousseff suspended from office for up to six months.

Rousseff's opponents have more than the 41 votes needed to launch her trial in the upper chamber, and they are confident they can muster two-thirds of the 81 senators, or 54, to unseat the president.

Earlier on Tuesday, Waldir Maranhao, the acting speaker of the lower house of Congress, withdrew his controversial decision to annul last month's impeachment vote in the chamber.

Maranhao, a little known politician before taking over last week after the removal of Eduardo Cunha for obstruction of a corruption investigation, faces expulsion from his centre-right Progressive Party, which supports Rousseff's impeachment...
 [aljazeera.com]
10/5/16
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