Polygraph

Lula da Silva appointed his own defense lawyer to the Supreme Court of Brazil.

Posted by The Benny Show, Checked

Polygraph verdictTrue
Sources
3 support2 context
Said
1 time·
Confidence
90%
The Benny ShowOct 26, 2026
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66 claimsThe check →

Sources confirm that Lula appointed Cristiano Zanin, his former personal defense lawyer who led his Car Wash defense, to Brazil's Supreme Court in June 2023. The extracted claim does not state a date, and the post's implication of a recent appointment is not supported; the appointment was in 2023, not in the 2026 election period.

What was said

… So, the stock market in Brazil has crashed. The markets don't like this. The markets don't like cheating. The markets don't like results that are incomprehensible, and here's how they are incomprehensible. Here's what happened last night: Lula, this is the corrupt, crusty communist, appointed his own defense lawyer to the Supreme Court. Lula, when the numbers were looking pitifully bad for his party, demanded not the electoral courts in Brazil, which have actually the say over how the elections are run, but Lula circumvented the electoral courts and went straight to the Supreme Court, …
The Benny Show · · from the transcriptPost →

What we found

Supports. AP reporting, republished by The Hill, states that Lula appointed Cristiano Zanin, his former personal lawyer, to the Supreme Court in June 2023 amid conflict-of-interest criticism.[1]

Supports. Bloomberg reports that Lula will appoint his personal attorney Cristiano Zanin, who headed his defense team in the Car Wash probes, to the Supreme Court.[2]

Supports. Valor International reports that Lula decided to appoint lawyer Cristiano Zanin, who defended him in the Car Wash case, to the vacant Federal Supreme Court seat.[3]

Context. Later reporting lists Zanin, Lula's former defense attorney, among Lula's Supreme Court nominees, and the 2026 Hindustan Times piece notes the case was assigned to Zanin, consistent with the 2023 appointment.[4][5]

Sources

5 sources: 1 tier 1, 1 tier 2, 3 not rated

  1. 1Brazilian president's former lawyer takes seat as Supreme Court ...thehill.com · tier 1 · cited for: supports
  2. 2Lula to Appoint Personal Attorney to Brazil's Supreme Courtbloomberg.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
  3. 3Lula nominates his lawyer for Supreme Court - Valor Internationalvalorinternational.globo.com · not rated · cited for: supports
  4. 4Lula nominates ally Jorge Messias to Brazil Supreme Courtcourthousenews.com · not rated · cited for: context
  5. 5How Brazil's Lula Pulled Off an Upset No One Saw Cominghindustantimes.com · not rated · cited for: context

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