Justin Trudeau About Six Inches Away From Being Tossed Out on His Ass as Scandal Consumes Canada

Canada's own Obama!

The short version is: Canada's state prosecutor had decided to bring charges against a large company, SNC-Lavalin, over business they'd done in Libya. But the company was protected by Canada's Liberal Party, and Trudeau himself personally, which kept pressuring the prosecutor to let the company off with a fine.

She refused to commit to that and eventually they demoted her from her position as prosecutor into some much more minor role.

Now she's testifying that Prime Minister Dreamboat tried to intimidate her and ultimately punished her for trying to bring justice against a company.

Justin Trudeau refuses to resign over claims officials interfered in bribery prosecution

Jody Wilson-Raybould: I was ‘barraged’ by senior officials

Former justice minister testifies on Canadian bribery scandal

PM says staff acted properly

Leyland Cecco in Toronto

Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau has rejected calls to resign over a scandal that is engulfing his administration, saying he and his staff always acted properly and that Canadians will get to have their say on the matter at the federal election in October.

His comments came after Canada's former minister of justice and attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould described a consistent, sustained and inappropriate effort by senior officials close to the prime minister who were attempting to dissuade her from prosecuting a Canadian engineering company accused of bribery.

In searing testimony to the justice committee on Wednesday, Wilson-Raybould said the pressure on her included "veiled threats" if she did not acquiesce.

"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 in an inappropriate effort," she said in her opening statement.

Wilson-Raybould's appearance before the committee marked her first public comments on the scandal, which has become the biggest crisis of Trudeau’s administration.

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Wilson-Raybould said she was "barraged" and subjected to "hounding" by members of the government. According to contemporaneous notes taken after each interaction, Wilson-Raybould recalled 10 phone calls and 10 meetings regarding the case.

Wilson-Raybould also detailed a meeting with Trudeau, in which the prime minister said that – as a member of parliament from Quebec – he was concerned by the issue of SNC Lavalin jobs in the province, and asked her to "help out" with the case.

"Are you politically interfering with my role as attorney general? I would strongly advise against it," Wilson-Raybould recalled telling the prime minister.

posted by Ace of Spades at 12:48 PM

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