On August 15 and 16, 2019, Bolsonaro announced that he would replace the PF command in Rio and said the name would be that of the Amazonas superintendent; the PF replied that the change had already been planned. Ricardo Saadi's dismissal came on August 30, 2019. Moro, in 2020, said the superintendent wanted to leave for personal reasons and that the change was agreed between him and Valeixo as a 'technical replacement.' Bolsonaro, in 2021, told the PF that he suggested the change because Rio is 'very complicated.' Moro's defense pointed out, in a June 2020 petition, that Bolsonaro's request coincided in that month with a request by Queiroz's defense for access to a confidential PF-RJ inquiry.
Evidence
On August 16, 2019, Bolsonaro said he would put the PF superintendent in Amazonas, Alexandre Saraiva, in command of the PF in Rio; the dismissal of Superintendent Ricardo Saadi appeared in the Official Gazette on August 30, 2019, and the PF announced Federal Police chief investigator Carlos Henrique Oliveira Souza as the new superintendent, while Bolsonaro defended the name of Alexandre Saraiva.
News reportSeveral independent sources
Source: Moro relaciona troca na PF do RJ a pedido de Queiroz para acesso à investigação — Congresso em Foco, June 23, 2020 · paragraphs 5 to 7 · open original ↗
News report · full text examined · accessed on Oct. 24, 2026
Limitations: The name of the actual replacement was read in a Poder360 report (Federal Police chief investigator Carlos Henrique Oliveira Souza, announced by the PF); the Official Gazette (DOU) was not consulted.
According to an excerpt of Saadi's testimony described in a news report, Valeixo phoned on August 15, 2019 saying he would move up the replacement of the Rio superintendency and wanted to move him to Brasília, without revealing reasons; minutes later he received the link to Bolsonaro's statement to the press.
Document described in a news reportSingle source
Source: Moro relaciona troca na PF do RJ a pedido de Queiroz para acesso à investigação — Congresso em Foco, June 23, 2020 · quotation from the testimony · open original ↗
News report · full text examined · accessed on Oct. 24, 2026
Limitations: Testimony described, not examined.
In testimony to the PF (November 3, 2021), Bolsonaro confirmed that in August 2019 he suggested to Moro changing the PF leadership in Rio and said he did so because the state is very complicated and he understood that the superintendent needed more freedom; he denied intending to obtain privileged information.
Document described in a news reportSingle source
Excerpt: “o Estado do Rio de Janeiro é muito complicado”
Source: Bolsonaro diz que sugeriu mudança na PF do Rio porque Estado é 'complicado' — Poder360, Nov. 4, 2021 · paragraphs 3 to 6 · open original ↗
News report · full text examined · accessed on Oct. 24, 2026
Limitations: Record of the testimony not examined; the report reproduces it in excerpts.
Moro's defense stated, in a petition attached to the inquiry by Federal Police chief investigator Christiane Correa Machado, that Bolsonaro's first wish to replace the Rio superintendent occurred in August 2019, the same month in which Fabrício Queiroz's defense requested access to a confidential PF inquiry in Rio that would mention Queiroz and, indirectly, Flávio Bolsonaro.
AccusationAllegation
Source: Moro relaciona troca na PF do RJ a pedido de Queiroz para acesso à investigação — Congresso em Foco, June 23, 2020 · paragraphs 1 to 4 and 10 · open original ↗
News report · full text examined · accessed on Oct. 24, 2026
Limitations: It is Moro's defense that establishes the coincidence of dates; the document was not examined and the report does not identify which confidential PF inquiry in Rio it was. The 'rachadinha' investigation in Flávio's office at Alerj is conducted by the Rio Public Prosecutor's Office, and the report does not show that it is the same proceeding. Bolsonaro, in 2021 testimony, gave another reason (fonte).
Moro's testimony, released by Celso de Mello on May 4, 2020 and made public on May 5, reports that on April 22, 2020 Bolsonaro demanded the replacement of the Rio superintendency and of the director-general, said he needed trusted people to obtain intelligence reports and that he 'would replace the director-general and the minister himself'; Moro said the pressure returned in January 2020 with Ramagem's name.
Document described in a news reportSingle source
Source: 'Você tem 27 superintendências, eu quero apenas uma, a do RJ': confira depoimento de Moro à PF — Tribuna de Jundiaí, May 5, 2020 · sections 'Pressure for changes', 'Changes in RJ and PE', and 'Ramagem's name' · open original ↗
News report · full text examined · accessed on Oct. 24, 2026
Limitations: Original record not examined.
