Brazilian senator Flávio Bolsonaro gave a 75-minute interview to reporter Ana Ionova of the New York Times in Miami. He denied receiving help to leave Brazil and declined to share details of the trip.
The newspaper set his account against information from US officials, who reportedly said a White House official arranged the plane and that President Donald Trump personally approved his entry into the United States. The report also mentions a meeting in Argentina with Santiago Caputo.
Bolsonaro still argues that Lula's election victory was fraudulent, but offered no evidence. The paper noted his own party did not contest the result and that the extended voting involved about 34,000 votes, far short of Lula's 4.4 million-vote margin.