A police officer stands guard one block away from the Constitutional Court building in Lima, Peru, Sept. 17, 2020.
Peruvian lawmakers will hold an impeachment hearing Friday, a day after the country's top court rejected a request by President Martin Vizcarra to stop the proceedings.
Congress voted last week to begin impeachment hearings against Vizcarra on grounds of moral incompetence, following allegations he tried to interfere in a probe into government contracts given to a singer.
The move by Congress was fueled by opposition legislators airing secretly recorded audio that appears to show Vizcarra orchestrating a strategy with his aides to answer questions about his meetings with singer Richard Cisneros.
Media reports say Cisneros claims the $50,000 worth of contracts were legal.
On Thursday, the president did not comment on the allegations while touring a banana plantation in the region of Piura, but a day earlier Vizcarra seemed to lash out at his detractors for attempting to create a political crisis in the midst of the coronavirus crisis.