Brazil president retreats from attempts to suspend investigation

Mr Temer was elected as vice-president in 2014 and replaced Dilma Rousseff a year ago

Brazil's President Michel Temer has asked the Supreme Court to proceed with an investigation against him for obstruction of justice and corruption. 

His lawyers say that a secret recording that appears to incriminate him has been edited 70 times.
On Saturday Mr Temer filed a petition at the Supreme Court to have the investigation suspended.

Joesley Batista admitted paying millions in bribes to officials

But his lawyers now say they want the investigation to go ahead to have the president's name cleared.
His legal team hired an audio expert, who concluded that the tape would not stand up as evidence in a court of law.

"Temer out, elections now," reads the banner held during a protest in Sao Paulo.

"We want this investigation to be concluded as soon as possible," said one of his lawyers, Gustavo Guedes. "The only evidence against him, the recording, is useless," added Mr Guedes.

Hush money

Contents of the tape were first released on Brazilian media on Wednesday, causing major political and economic turmoil.

President Temer was secretly recorded by Joesley Batista, president of Brazilian giant meat-packing firm JBS, during a late-night, unscheduled meeting.

The wealthy businessman made the recording as part of a plea bargain with the prosecutor's office.
On the tape, Mr Temer seems to signal his approval for illegal payments to the former speaker of the lower house of Congress, Eduardo Cunha, who was jailed for corruption last year.

• Temer's year in office
• A glossary of Brazilian corruption inquiries

According to Mr Batista, Cunha was being paid 1 million reais ($300,000; £235,000) a month in exchange for his silence regarding the involvement of other politicians, including Mr Temer, in Brazil's wide-ranging corruption scandal known as Operation Car Wash.

The probe, launched in March 2014, centres on companies that were offered deals with state oil giant Petrobras in exchange for bribes, which were funnelled into politicians' pockets and political party slush funds.

Many expected the president to resign once the contents of the tape were made public. But he has made it clear that he will fight to serve out his term, which ends on 31 December 2018.