Posted on 10/27/2005 7:16:08 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) - A congressional panel on Thursday voted overwhelmingly to submit former presidential aide Jose Dirceu to impeachment proceedings over his alleged involvement in a corruption scandal.
The Ethics Committee action means an impeachment vote will be held in the lower house of Congress next month, when Dirceu could be expelled for "lack of decorum" and barred from holding public office for eight years.
Dirceu resigned his chief of staff post in President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's Cabinet in June amid charges he orchestrated illegal campaign funding and a scheme to bribe legislators for their support in Congress.
Dirceu, 59, has called the impeachment a "political execution" and claims there is no proof of his wrongdoing.
In June, former Rep. Roberto Jefferson accused Dirceu of spearheading a bribes-for-votes scheme to garner support for government projects in Congress.
Dirceu immediately resigned his Cabinet post but retained his legislative seat. Jefferson was expelled from Congress on Sept. 14.
Silva has not been personally linked to the alleged schemes, but his popularity has fallen sharply, and it's not clear whether he will run for re-election in 2006.
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