 Brazil is reeling after the Intercept published reports on Sunday, June 9th, which confirmed the political motivation behind the persecution of former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The reports revealed that the prosecutors in the Operation Car Wash Task Force, as well as the judge presiding over the case, Sergio Moro, collaborated with a clear political intention to persecute Lula and prevent a return of the Workers' Party to power. The reports are based on an archive of private chats, audio recordings, videos, photos, and court proceedings that were provided to the outlet by anonymous source. Lula has been under investigation since 2014 as part of the Operation Car Wash corruption investigation and was accused of accepting $1.1 million in bribes from the construction company OAS to remodel a triplex beachside apartment. Despite a flawed and irregular legal process and a complete lack of evidence, Lula was convicted and sentenced to nine years in prison by Judge Sergio Moro. In April 2018, after a series of appeals were rejected, Sergio Moro ordered an arrest warrant for Lula, and he has since been serving his sentence in the headquarters of the Brazilian Federal Police in Curitiba. Just before he was imprisoned, Lula was on the presidential campaign trail and was leading in all of the polls. His imprisonment pulled him out of the running and paved the way for the victory of far-right candidate Jair Boltonaro. One of the stars of the Intercept's expose is the same judge who led this legal crusade against Lula, Sergio Moro. One report focuses on Moro's relationship with the chief prosecutor of the Operation Car Wash Task Force, Dalanglion, and shows excerpts from their chat. In their chat, Moro offers advice and strategies to the prosecutor to assist him in the investigation of Lula. Cooperation between a judge and prosecutors is a violation of the judiciary's code of ethics for Brazil, and is completely unethical as a judge's responsibility is to guarantee a fair trial. Another report showed that even after Lula had been eliminated from the running, the right wing still felt the need to silence him. The report showed how the prosecutors who worked on Lula's case discussed in a private chat how to stop an important Brazilian newspaper from interviewing Lula just before the elections. In a group chat, the prosecutors lamented that an interview with a popular leader so close to elections could potentially improve the prospects of workers' party candidate Fernando Haddad. The reports reveal what many have already suspected. The actions of the Operation Car Wash Task Force, as well as the judge overseeing the case, were partial and had clear political motivation. For many, the shameless appointment of Sergio Moro to the minister of justice in Boltonaro's cabinet was evidence enough. During the publishing of these reports, five opposition parties from Brazil's House of Representatives have announced that they will obstruct all actions in the legislative body until the implicated parties, the prosecutors and the judges, are brought to justice. Several lawyers and legal associations have also called for a full investigation to be launched into former judge Sergio Moro, now minister of justice, as well as the chief prosecutor of the Car Wash investigation, Dalton Dalagnão. U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders also denounced the actions of Moro and the Car Wash Task Force and said that the exposures should free Lula. He said to the Intercept, Today it is clearer than ever that Lula da Silva was imprisoned in a politicized prosecution that denied him a fair trial and due process. During his presidency, Lula oversaw huge reductions in poverty and remains Brazil's most popular politician. I stand with political and social leaders across the globe who are calling on Brazil's judiciary to release Lula and annul his conviction. Meanwhile, Brazilian people's movements continue to demand Lula's release and announce the actions of the Brazilian oligarchy, which has wielded mainstream media as well as the judiciary to stop the will of the people. They're also gearing up for a general strike on June 14th, which will have participation from all of Brazil's central trade unions to fight against the pension reform of Bolsonaro's government as well as the rest of the tax on workers' rights, social rights, and budget cuts in education.