Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is reconsidering Jody Wilson-Raybould91裸聊视频檚 future in the Liberal party after his former attorney general accused him, his senior staff and the country91裸聊视频檚 top civil servant of putting her under relentless pressure to interfere in the criminal prosecution of SNC-Lavalin and refused to say whether she still believes in his leadership.
91裸聊视频淚 completely disagree with the former attorney general91裸聊视频檚 characterization of events,91裸聊视频� Trudeau said in Montreal, shortly after Wilson-Raybould concluded four hours of explosive testimony before the House of Commons justice committee. 91裸聊视频淚 strongly maintain, as I have from the beginning, that I and my staff always acted appropriately and professionally.91裸聊视频�
He said he will review all of Wilson-Raybould91裸聊视频檚 testimony before deciding whether she can remain in the Liberal caucus or seek re-election this fall as a Liberal candidate.
Wilson-Raybould reiterated her intention to remain part of the Liberal team as she exited the committee room, even though she refused during questioning to say whether she still had confidence in the leader of that team.
91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檓 not sure how that question is relevant,91裸聊视频� she said when asked by a Liberal colleague if she still has confidence in the prime minister.
During her testimony, which drew gasps from opposition MPs and the overflow crowd of observers in the committee room, Wilson-Raybould said she believes Trudeau shuffled her out the prestigious justice portfolio in mid-January because she refused to give in to pressure 91裸聊视频� and even 91裸聊视频渧eiled threats91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频� to order a halt to a criminal prosecution of SNC-Lavalin.
The Montreal engineering giant was, and is, facing charges of fraud and corruption related to attempts to get business in Libya. A 91裸聊视频渞emediation agreement,91裸聊视频� a sort of plea bargain, would have headed off a trial and removed the possibility SNC-Lavalin would be banned from federal business in Canada.
91裸聊视频淔or a period of approximately four months, between September and December of 2018, I experienced a consistent and sustained effort by many people within the government to seek to politically interfere in the exercise of prosecutorial discretion in my role as the attorney general of Canada,91裸聊视频� she told the committee.
Wilson-Raybould provided a detailed accounting of meetings and phone calls to back up her accusations, breaking three weeks of silence on the affair that has rocked the government, prompting her resignation from cabinet and the departure of Trudeau91裸聊视频檚 most trusted adviser, Gerald Butts.
Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer, speaking immediately after Wilson-Raybould91裸聊视频檚 testimony finished, said Trudeau had lost the moral authority to govern the country and should resign. He also called for a police investigation of Wilson-Raybould91裸聊视频檚 claims.
The former minister told the committee she was 91裸聊视频漢ounded91裸聊视频� to end the prosecution for months after the director of public prosecutions, Kathleen Roussel, had rejected the idea of negotiating a remediation agreement with SNC-Lavalin and long after she had unequivocally declared that she would not direct Roussel to reverse her decision.
While she believed it was inappropriate, Wilson-Raybould said she didn91裸聊视频檛 consider the pressure to be illegal. She did not resign or directly raise her concerns with Trudeau after Sept. 17, when she first informed him that she would not intervene in the SNC-Lavalin matter.
She said she didn91裸聊视频檛 speak directly to Trudeau about SNC-Lavalin again until Jan. 7, when he informed her he was about to move her out of the justice portfolio; she suggested the move was the result of her refusal to intervene in the prosecution, which he denied. She accepted a move to veterans affairs on Jan. 14 and did not resign from cabinet until Feb. 11, five days after an anonymously sourced allegation that she91裸聊视频檇 been improperly pressured first surfaced in the Globe and Mail.
91裸聊视频淎t the time, I did not see it as my responsibility to resign. I saw myself as the attorney general of the country who was doing her job to ensure and uphold the independence of the prosecutor and uphold the integrity of the justice system and the rule of law,91裸聊视频� Wilson-Raybould said.
Trudeau has said there were vigorous discussions within government about the case but that he repeatedly assured Wilson-Raybould that a decision on intervening to halt the prosecution was hers alone.
She disputed that version of events, saying Trudeau only offered some vague assurance after she confronted him directly at the Sept. 17 meeting, two weeks after Roussel had decided not to consider a remediation agreement.
91裸聊视频淭he prime minister asked me to help out, to find a solution here for SNC, citing that if there was no (remediation agreement) there would be many jobs lost and that SNC would move from Montreal,91裸聊视频� Wilson-Raybould said.
She said she explained the law to Trudeau and told him she 91裸聊视频渉ad made up my mind91裸聊视频� to not intervene with Roussel. But she said Trudeau and Privy Council clerk Michael Wernick continued to express concerns, with Wernick noting that Quebec was holding an election in a couple of weeks and Trudeau stressing that he is himself a Quebec MP.
91裸聊视频淚 was quite taken aback,91裸聊视频� she said, adding that she looked Trudeau in the eye and asked: 91裸聊视频淎re you politically interfering with my role, my decision as the attorney general? 91裸聊视频� The prime minister said, 91裸聊视频楴o, no, no, we just need to find a solution.91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频�
VIDEO: Wilson-Raybould says she got veiled threats on SNC-Lavalin
Wilson-Raybould detailed instances of what she considered inappropriate pressure by Finance Minister Bill Morneau91裸聊视频檚 chief of staff and others but said the pressure campaign escalated over the fall, even after SNC-Lavalin went to court to challenge Roussel91裸聊视频檚 rejection of a remediation agreement.
Her chief of staff, Jessica Prince, was eventually summoned to an urgent Dec. 18 meeting with Trudeau91裸聊视频檚 chief of staff, Katie Telford, and his then principal secretary, Butts. Citing text messages from Prince sent to her immediately after the meeting, Wilson-Raybould said the prime minister91裸聊视频檚 top two aides wanted her to hire an external legal expert, possibly a retired Supreme Court justice, to give an opinion on the appropriateness of directing Roussel to reverse her decision on the SNC-Lavalin prosecution.
When Prince suggested that would be interference, Butts purportedly said, 91裸聊视频淛ess, there is no solution here that does not involve some interference.91裸聊视频� Telford said an external legal opinion would give the government 91裸聊视频渃over91裸聊视频� and allow Trudeau to say he was doing something.
But the most egregious pressure came the following day, on Dec. 19, when Wilson-Raybould said she received what she deemed to be three 91裸聊视频渧eiled threats91裸聊视频� that she could lose her job from the clerk of the Privy Council, Wernick. The country91裸聊视频檚 top civil servant last week told the committee he believes there was no improper pressure applied to Wilson-Raybould by him or anyone else.
According to Wilson-Raybould, Wernick told her that Trudeau wanted to know why SNC-Lavalin was not being offered a remediation agreement. He told her that the prime minister was 91裸聊视频済oing to find a way to get it done one way or the other91裸聊视频� and that it was not good for the attorney general to be 91裸聊视频渁t loggerheads91裸聊视频� with the prime minister.
In all, Wilson-Raybould said pressure was exerted on her or her staff by 11 people through approximately 10 phone calls, 10 meetings and numerous emails and text messages.
READ MORE: Scheer calls on Trudeau to resign over SNC-Lavalin affair
Trudeau did not dispute that the SNC-Lavalin case was a hot topic of discussion with Wilson-Raybould.
91裸聊视频淥f course we had discussions about the potential loss of 9,000 jobs in communities across the country, including the possible impact on pensions,91裸聊视频� he said.
But he added: 91裸聊视频淚 want to be absolutely clear here. The decision around SNC-Lavalin was Ms. Wilson-Raybould91裸聊视频檚 and hers alone.91裸聊视频�
The Canadian Press
Like us on and follow us on .
