RIO DE JANEIRO -- A Brazilian magazine Thursday released audio of a senator claiming then-President Jair Bolsonaro sought help in a plot to annul the October elections and keep himself in power.
In the recording, Sen. Marcos do Val tells the magazine Veja that the idea was discussed Dec. 9 when he met with Bolsonaro and lawmaker Daniel Silveira at the presidential residence, three weeks before leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was set to take office.
Do Val, who was an ally during Bolsonaro's four-year term, said the far-right leader gave him the "mission" of recording Alexandre de Moraes, a Supreme Court justice who also heads Brazil's electoral authority, while trying to get the judge to admit he overstepped his powers under the constitution.
"'I annul the election, Lula isn't sworn in, I stay in the presidency and arrest Alexandre de Moraes because of his comments,'" do Val quotes Bolsonaro as saying.
Veja released the audio in response to denials the senator issued following the magazine's report Thursday about the purported plot, which had not cited him as its source. Do Val told reporters after the magazine published its story that the plot had been Silveira's idea and the former president hadn't said a word during the meeting.
Later Thursday, de Moraes ordered the Federal Police to take do Val's sworn testimony within five days.
Bolsonaro, who has been in Florida since Dec. 30, did not comment on the matter on any of his social media channels. Contacted by The Associated Press, Bolsonaro's lawyer Frederick Wassef declined to comment.
Suspicions of a coup plot increased after police searching the home of Bolsonaro's former justice minister found a draft decree that would have seized control of the electoral authority and potentially overturned the election. The origin of the unsigned document is unclear, and it remains unknown if Bolsonaro or his subordinates took any steps to implement the measure.
Bolsonaro tried to stop him from taking office, Lula said in an interview Thursday.
"That man prepared the coup. They wanted to make that mess on January 1st, but they noticed they could not because there was too much police, too many people on the street," Lula told the RedeTV network.
Do Val told both Veja magazine and journalists later Thursday that he informed de Moraes of what was discussed at the meeting with Bolsonaro and Silveira, and that he declined to participate in the alleged plot.
Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro, the former president's son, said he was aware of the meeting, which he described as an attempt by Silveira to persuade the other two men to do something "absolutely unacceptable, absurd and illegal." But discussing such an idea does not constitute a crime, he said.
Silveira was arrested Thursday on de Moraes' order for violating terms of his release from prison. He was prohibited from using his social media accounts and required to wear an electronic ankle bracelet as other investigations targeting him proceed.