19.10.201719:09:00UTC+00BRAZIL: House Committee Votes To Shield President Temer

A Brazilian House of Representatives Committee voted in favor of shielding President Michel Temer from a trial for corruption. The decision must be endorsed by the House floor and was widely expected by investors.

Temer was charged for the second time this year in September, when public prosecutors accused him of leading a criminal group that received at least R$ 587 million (US$ 187 million) in graft payments.

The complaint says that Temer and other members of his political party (PMDB), including current cabinet members, used public companies and agencies to commit crimes in exchange for money.

Prosecutors also say that Temer and other PMDB politicians engineered a plan to oust Dilma Rousseff from the Presidency last year because of a perceived lack of effort from her government to stop investigations about corruption schemes.

Temer denied the charges and said that he is the victim of a conspiracy plot.

The charges were submitted to the House of Representatives because the Brazilian Constitution requires authorization from the lower house of Congress to any presidential trial.

Wednesday night, the Brazilian House of Representatives' Committee on Constitution, Justice and Citizenship approved by 39 to 26 votes a report advising lawmakers to shelve the complaint against Temer.

The report says that there are "insufficient elements" to admit the charge.

If the House floor endorses the report, prosecutors will have to wait for Temer to step down to proceed with the trial. If the floor decides to authorize the trial, Temer can be removed from office for up to 180 days and leave the presidency if found guilty.