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Brazil's bar association on Sunday called for the impeachment of President Michel Temer, after a tape was revealed in which he appeared to agree to bribe former Speaker Eduardo Cunha into silence.
In a statement, the Order of Attorneys of Brazil (OAB) said that its federal council decided on Sunday morning to call for Temer's impeachment and called on the Chamber of Deputies to begin the process.
The OAB's federal council has representatives from Brazil's 27 states, among which 25 voted for impeachment, one against and one abstained.
The legal body also said it had formed a commission to analyze the documents released on Thursday by the Supreme Court, after the tape was turned over by Joesley Batista, owner of the JBS meatpacking giant.
The Supreme Court has also opened an investigation against Temer for alleged obstruction of justice.
The OAB's rapporteur, Flavio Pansieri, said that Temer had forsaken his duty to report crimes that he had heard during his meeting with Batista in March.
In 1992, the OAB called for the impeachment of then-president Fernando Collor de Mello, who resigned before being impeached on corruption charges. In 2016, the legal body also called for the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff.
By Sunday, the Chamber of Deputies had received at least nine requests for Temer's impeachment.
However, Temer has refused to resign, claiming that Batista's tape had been doctored and that he had done nothing wrong.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
