BRASILIA (Reuters) -A panel of Brazil's Supreme Court moved on Friday to put lawmaker Eduardo Bolsonaro on trial for allegedly seeking U.S. President Donald Trump's help to halt criminal proceedings against his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, in a coup plot case.
Justices Alexandre de Moraes, Flavio Dino and Cristiano Zanin voted to accept charges of coercion brought by Brazil's Prosecutor General against the younger Bolsonaro. Justice Carmen Lucia had not yet cast her vote.
Eduardo Bolsonaro moved to the United States earlier this year and has claimed credit for pushing the White House to raise tariffs on U.S. imports of Brazilian goods to 50% in retaliation for the criminal case against his father.
Jair Bolsonaro was sentenced in September to 27 years in prison for plotting a coup after losing the 2022 presidential election.
Brazil's prosecutor general argued that the federal lawmaker "repeatedly sought to subordinate the interests of Brazil and the entire society to his own personal and family agenda".
Trump has called the case against the former Brazilian leader, who was friendly with the U.S. president when they were both in office, a "witch hunt". He imposed sanctions on Moraes, the justice overseeing the case.
Eduardo Bolsonaro told Reuters that his work in the U.S. was not aimed at getting his father acquitted by Brazilian courts, but at forcing the Brazilian Supreme Court to punish officials who, according to the son, were not complying with Brazil's constitution.
(Reporting by Ricardo Brito in Brasilia; additional reporting by Luciana Magalhaes in Rio de Janeiro; Writing by Isabel Teles; Editing by Gabriel Araujo and Cynthia Osterman)
