Wilson-Raybould submits written evidence on SNC-Lavalin affair

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OTTAWA (NEWS 1130) – Former Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould says she will be shedding more light on what really transpired in the SNC-Lavalin affair in a written submission she’s filed to the federal justice committee.

The clerk of the committee now has the submission from Wilson-Raybould, which contains emails, text messages and additional facts and evidence about this controversy.

But the chair of the committee says the report won’t be made public right away.

The documents have to be translated into French and some personal information, such as phone numbers and email addresses, have to be redacted.

It could take several days for the report to be made public.

Last week, Wilson-Raybould said she would provide “copies of text messages and emails” that she referred to last month when she testified for nearly four hours before the committee. She also said she would make a written submission, based on “relevant facts and evidence in my possession that further clarify statements I made and elucidate the accuracy and nature of statements by witnesses in testimony that came after my committee appearance.”

Her written statement will be “within the confines of the waiver of cabinet confidence and solicitor-client privilege” she was granted before testifying orally, she said. That waiver covers up until Jan. 14, when she was shuffled out of her dual role as justice minister and attorney general.

Vice Chair of the committee Conservative Michael Cooper says it’s disappointing we have to find out facts like this, adding he would have much preferred another round of testimony from Wilson-Raybould.

“The Liberals have used every tool at their disposal to shut down the work of the justice committee to hear her whole version of events,” he adds.

The Liberals used their majority to end the committee investigation last week.

When she testified in person, Wilson-Raybould alleged she’d suffered a months-long campaign, pushed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office, to get her to order a “deferred prosecution agreement” be offered to SNC-Lavalin over its allegedly corrupt dealings in Libya.

She was followed by former prime ministerial aide Gerald Butts, who said there were miscommunications but no improper pressure, and then-Privy Council clerk Michael Wernick, who denied Wilson-Raybould’s allegation that he’d issued veiled threats about her place in cabinet on the prime minister’s behalf.

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