Embattled Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff on Tuesday lashed out at the two men in line to succeed her if she is impeached, calling her vice president and the house speaker "heads of the conspiracy" to remove her from office, according to AP. Speaking to teachers and students at the presidential palace in Brasilia, Rousseff said Vice President Michel Temer and Lower House Speaker Eduardo Cunha are jointly plotting her downfall. The remarks came on the heels of an allegedly accidental release Monday of an address to the nation that Temer intended to deliver after a hypothetical congressional vote that would suspend Rousseff from office. In the 13-minute-long audio, which Temer said he unintentionally sent to lawmakers through an instant messenger app, the vice president speaks as if he had already assumed the top job. Rousseff said she was "shocked" by the recording, which she said "reveals treason against me and against democracy." On Monday, a lower house commission brought Rousseff one step closer to impeachment after approving a report in favor of her removal. The proceedings stem from allegations her administration violated fiscal rules to mask budget problems by shifting around government accounts.
