Then Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro (left) and then Army Commander General Marco Antonio Freire Gomes talk during the celebration of Soldier's Day at the Army headquarters in Brasilia, on Aug 25, 2022. (PHOTO / AFP)

BRASILIA - The former heads of Brazil's Army and Air Force have confirmed to federal police that ex-president Jair Bolsonaro discussed a draft decree to prevent the handover of power after the 2022 election, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Their testimonies, delivered to investigators in recent weeks, augur badly for Bolsonaro, whose political career looks finished and is now widely seen as battling to stay out of jail.

Bolsonaro has been ruled politically ineligible until 2030 for spreading electoral misinformation during the 2022 campaign, and recently had his passport seized by police probing his efforts to cling onto power after he lost to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in the election.

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Last week, former Army chief Marco Antonio Freire Gomes told police in a seven-hour deposition that there were discussions with Bolsonaro over a draft decree that could have prevented Lula's inauguration, two sources said.

The possible charges against Bolsonaro, which include trying to overthrow the democratic state, racketeering, and falsification of documents, carry a maximum total jail sentence of 55 years

That followed testimony from former Air Force chief Carlos Baptista Junior, who last month also told police about the discussions with Bolsonaro on ways to prevent Lula from taking power, one of the sources said.

"I've spoken with various sources over the last 48 hours. I'm certain. There is nothing concrete against the president," Bolsonaro family spokesman Fabio Wajngarten wrote on X, adding that he had not yet had access to the ex-military chiefs' testimonies.

Neither Gomes nor Baptista Junior could be reached for comment.

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Bolsonaro currently faces various criminal probes that are close to reaching their conclusions.

A federal police source with knowledge of the matter said investigators plan to combine the various probes, and are already discussing the charges they believe Bolsonaro should face. The possible charges, which include trying to overthrow the democratic state, racketeering, and falsification of documents, carry a maximum total jail sentence of 55 years.

Once the federal police have decided what charges they believe Bolsonaro should face, it would then be up to the office of Brazil's prosecutor general to formally indict him.

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"Bolsonaro's indictment is more a matter of when, rather than if," a source in the top prosecutor's office told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Neither the prosecutor general's office nor the federal police responded to requests for comment.