Leader of Brazil's Rousseff impeachment resigns from top job

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

Leader of Brazil's Rousseff impeachment resigns from top job

Mauricio Savarese, Associated Press
Updated 3:25 pm, Thursday, July 7, 2016

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The man who led efforts to impeach suspended President Dilma Rousseff resigned as speaker of Brazil's lower house of congress Thursday, but kept the legislative seat that could help shield him from corruption charges.

Brazil's top court already had suspended Eduardo Cunha from his duties as speaker over allegations of obstructing justice and corruption, including holding Swiss bank accounts worth millions of dollars from purported bribes.

Cunha kicked off impeachment proceedings against Rousseff in December, accusing her of violating fiscal laws to hide problems in the government's finances. Rousseff denies that.

Cunha's allies have suggested that resigning the speakership would be his best chance to survive a full vote by the House of Deputies that could strip him of his congressional seat and thereby lift legal protections enjoyed by lawmakers.

Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Leader-of-Brazil-s-Rousseff-impeachment-resigns-8346185.php

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Some people have compared Cunha to Kevin Spacey's character on "House of Cards." [/center]

[mazzarro]

1. I Hope they find a way of holding him to account

For this type of situation, I wish that there is way of parking charges against him until he is no longer a legislator - no matter how long that takes. Since he and his allies are trying so hard to shield him from corruption charges.

My preferred option will be that the well meaning fellow legislators will vote him out so that prosecutors can fully charge him with corruption.