Brazil speaker denies agreement on impeachment requests

Reuters
President of the Chamber of Deputies deputy Eduardo Cunha reacts during a session of the Chamber of Deputies in Brasilia March 26, 2015. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil's lower house speaker Eduardo Cunha said on Thursday he had not made an agreement with President Dilma Rousseff's government or opposition politicians regarding impeachment requests against the president. Local media have reported the government is trying to help Cunha, who faces charges for taking bribes in a scandal at state-run oil firm Petrobras, survive a hearing with a congressional ethics meeting in exchange for not opening an impeachment procedure. Opposition politicians have sought to convince him to fast-track impeachment. (Writing by Caroline Stauffer; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli)