Chamber of Deputies Speaker Rodrigo Maia (C, front) attends the plenary session of the Chamber of Deputies for voting to decide on a corruption case against President Michel Temer in Brasilia, capital of Brazil, on Aug. 2, 2017. (Xinhua/Li Ming)
BRASILIA, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- The Brazilian Chamber of Deputies has voted to dismiss the corruption charges against President Michel Temer.
On Wednesday evening, the Chamber of Deputies voted by 263 against 227, to reject the charges filed against Temer by Prosecutor General Rodrigo Janot, the first case against a sitting president.
At the time, the vote was delayed because of clashes between deputies from both sides for and against Temer on the Chamber floor. A deputy threw fake money in the air to insinuate Temer and his government's embezzlement.
Another man hoisted two balloons with Temer's images on them.
Chamber Speaker Rodrigo Maia castigated deputies and asked them: "Do you think that playing with dolls is a good image for Brazil?"
Paulo Abi-Ackel, the Chamber's rapporteur on the case, said the rejection of the charges does not presume impunity for the president, and the Chamber's decision would not prevent future legal issues.
However, according to Brazil's law, the vote result means Temer will not be prosecuted on these corruption charges until he leaves office.
The lawsuit began in May, mostly a year after Temer took office in last August, when his predecessor, Dilma Rousseff, stepped down in impeachment plea deal.
Temer was himself charged with passive corruption after executives of Brazil's meat conglomerate, the JBS, admitted paying bribes to the president. They also provided an audio recording in which Temer could seemingly be heard signing off on bribes for public officials.
Brazilian Prosecutor General, Rodrigo Janot, charged Temer of accepting these bribes and illegally providing political favors for the JBS.
Temer's special advisor, Rodrigo Loures, was also caught on film receiving a suitcase containing 500,000 Brazilian reais (about 160,000 U.S. dollars), which the JBS said was prepared for Temer.
Brazil's political torments may not come to its end. Janot said he will file two more suits against Temer, in which he is suspected of obstruction of justice and criminal organization.
Janot on Wednesday also asked the Supreme Court to include Temer in the investigation into a conspiracy-based bribery by his Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB) leadership.
Supreme Court Justice Edson Fachin responded that he will consider expanding this investigation to include the president.
