Vice President JD Vance’s donor network is under scrutiny in Brazil after a local Supreme Court justice on Tuesday called for the country’s federal police to investigate any alleged connection between the organization and Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro’s presidential campaign.
In a 38-page decision written in Portuguese, Supreme Court Justice Flávio Dino cited “reports of a potential influx of foreign funds to benefit an election campaign” and wrote that the Rockbridge Network, which Vance co-founded, allegedly participated in discussions meant to secure financial backing for Bolsonaro.
It is illegal in Brazil for political parties and candidates to receive foreign contributions, either directly or indirectly. Dino noted in the ruling that the U.S. has similar bans.
The investigation seeks “the identity of those responsible for paying for and contracting the electoral advertising attributed to foreign profiles,” as well as the source of the funding.
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Vance co-founded Rockbridge Network with conservative media figure Chris Buskirk in 2019. The vice president’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but Rockbridge denied contact or involvement with the people cited in Dino’s order who had said they were agents for the network, The Washington Post reported.
“The Brazilians made false representations about their relationship with Rockbridge and created documents representing or referencing Rockbridge without Rockbridge’s knowledge or consent,” the network told the Post in a written statement.
Dino’s ruling Tuesday is the latest entry in a pattern of escalating tensions between the two countries, particularly as President Donald Trump has levied significant tariffs on Brazil after tense relations with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. In August, the State Department also revoked the visa of Brazil’s ambassador to the U.S. after Brazilian officials declined to grant diplomatic approval to Daniel Perez, the U.S. ambassador to Brazil.
The ruling cites several of those tension points, including the ambassador negotiations and ongoing legal tensions with tech giant Meta.
Brasil Pronto pra Mais, an entity associated with Lula’s campaign, sued Meta earlier this month, alleging preferential treatment for Bolsonaro’s campaign on the company’s social platform. Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court ruled Oct. 15 that the tech giant must ensure Lula and Bolsonaro receive equal treatment ahead of the runoff election, though Meta had already denied wrongdoing.
Dino’s order also directed Brazil’s federal police to look into “algorithmic manipulations” by tech companies intended to help certain candidates in the election.
After Lula beat Bolsonaro in a runoff election this week, the conservative senator fled the country in an apparent attempt to avoid a federal corruption investigation into his family enterprises. The Trump administration granted Bolsonaro and his family U.S. visas, the Post reported Wednesday.
Bolsonaro left after the country’s Supreme Court ordered him to surrender his passports and barred him from international travel as part of a criminal probe into a $10 million money-laundering and corruption scheme, CNN reported. He has denied wrongdoing and referred to himself Wednesday as the “true president-elect.”
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