Author of Twitter Files says he is a target of Moraes and calls for the opening of a CPI

The American journalist Michael Shellenberger said this Saturday (April 20, 2024) that he was the target of investigations by the PF (Federal Police) with no indication that he had broken laws. These investigations, according to Shellenberger, were carried out at the request of STF (Supreme Federal Court) minister Alexandre de Moraes. The journalist asked for the opening of a CPI (Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry) into the minister, whom he called “brutal authoritarian”.

The author of Twitter Files said in a video published on his profile on X (former Twitter) that the PF sent 2 reports about him to the minister, who is also president of the TSE (Superior Electoral Court). Reports on Shellenberger’s activities would have been sent on Thursday and Friday (18-19.Apr).

The 1st document cites the assumption non-compliance of court orders by Here is the full text (PDF – 6.2 MB).

In the 2nd report sent to Moraes, the PF cites reports published by the journalist, his interactions with the owner of X, Elon Musk, and the repercussions of the case. On his profile on the platform, Shellenberger has 1,082,592 followers and one signature: Elon Musk. Here is the full text (PDF – 1.8 MB)

“Alexandre de Moraes instrumentalized the Federal Police, including against me, for having published Twitter files in Brazil”, Shellenberger said. Regarding the reports, he said that “consist of a gigantic conspiracy theory, suggesting connections and relationships that simply do not exist“.

Watch (9m12s):

Information about Shellenberger’s profile was included in the report, something that in Shellenberger’s assessment would attempt to indicate that he is “suspect” of illegal acts.

“The reports put me in the spotlight and suggest that I am somehow suspicious, just because I paid for a subscription to X, a subscription that is paid to Elon Musk. But there is nothing suspicious about that. I’m the one paying Musk, not the other way around!“, he declared.

X’s defense in Brazil denied having enabled the use of blocked profiles. He also said that 161 accounts were blocked by order of the STF and 65 by order of the TSE.

The American journalist said that Moraes’ actions at the head of the electoral court constitute acts of censorship and attacks against him. He also said that Musk took “extraordinary measures” to guarantee freedom of expression.

Since April 6, the businessman born in South Africa and naturalized in the United States in 2002 has criticized the court orders directed at X issued by Moraes, whom he called “dictator“. Musk said the decisions require the platform to violate Brazilian laws. In the most recent comment, Musk compared Moraes to the character Voldemort, villain from the Harry Potter franchise.

The comparison was made in response to Moraes’ speech on Friday night, during the laying of the cornerstone of the Museum of Democracy, in Rio. The minister said – without naming names – that the Electoral Court is being targeted by attacks from “irresponsible mercantilists” linked to social networks that “treat Brazil as a colony”.

“By calling Elon Musk a foreign mercantilist, Alexandre de Moraes is using exactly the same kind of nationalist rhetoric that he used to accuse his enemies of using,” Shellenberger said in the post.

The American journalist stated that the National Congress should open a CPI against the “abuses of authority by the Judiciary“, to hear “the victims of censorship” e “discover how social media platforms were forced to submit to or collaborate with the regime, even in violation of Brazilian laws and the Federal Constitution itself”.

“Now it is time for the Brazilian Congress to act against Alexandre Moraes’ anti-democratic extremism. And he must do so before the extremist Alexandre de Moraes starts arresting more political enemies, puts an end to X and, therefore, restricts freedom of expression in Brazil”.