Rousseff's Most Powerful Foe Weakened on Ethics Committee Probe
- Ethics committee starts chosing leader to investigate Cunha
- The hearings may result in his removal from Congress
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Brazil’s lower house will open hearings against its speaker on allegations of misconduct that could deplete his political capital and make it increasingly difficult for him to start impeachment proceedings against President Dilma Rousseff.
The house ethics committee on Tuesday will begin choosing a legislator to lead the probe into accusations that the chamber’s president, Eduardo Cunha, lied when he said he didn’t have bank accounts outside Brazil. He made the statement during a separate investigation into allegations he took kickbacks from contracts with state oil company Petrobras. If he’s found guilty, he could be ousted from Congress. Cunha, 57, denies any wrongdoing.