Corruption

SNC-Lavalin CEO Neil Bruce seems to have put paid to the story being told by the Prime Minister, former Principal Secretary Gerald Butts and the former Clerk of the Privy Council Michael Wernick who all said the efforts of the government to convince former Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould to defer criminal charges of bribery and fraud against SNC were all about trying to save 9,000 jobs in Quebec. (True North)

As the Liberal government of Justin Trudeau is doing its level best to minimize the damage done to them in an election year by the SNC-Lavalin scandal, there’s been much debate about whether or not the behaviour of the Prime Minister, his former Principle Secretary Gerald Butts and the Clerk of the Privy Council Michael Wernick in trying to change the mind of the Attorney General Jody Wilson Raybould amounted to anything criminal. (True North)

Opposition MPs hurled angry claims of a "coverup" today after Liberals used their majority to shut down an emergency meeting of the committee probing the SNC-Lavalin affair. The meeting was requested by Conservative and NDP members to press the Liberals to recall Jody Wilson-Raybould to testify again, even though the Liberals already had defeated a similar motion. (CBC)

More:

Lavscam now in full cover up mode

Despite the protestations to the contrary from the Prime Minister, his Principal Secretary Gerald Butts and the Clerk of the Privy Council Michael Wernick, whatever else the SNC-Lavalin scandal may be about, the interference by the PMO and the PCO was not about jobs. (True North)

Previous:

Testimony only adds fuel to dumpster fire in PMO

Jane Philpott, President of the Treasury Board, has resigned — citing the ongoing SNC-Lavalin scandal. “I have been considering the events that have shaken the federal government in recent weeks and after serious reflection, I have concluded that I must resign as a member of Cabinet,” she said in her resignation. (True North)

More:

KNIGHT: A dumpster fire, PMO in disarray

A conservative government watchdog group filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission accusing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s top aide of funneling $1 million in donations into his private accounts in a possible violation of the law, according to a report. (New York Post)

Jody Wilson-Raybould has a way of making an impression. Oddly enough, for a politician, she often makes it in private. There was the day in 2011, back when Wilson-Raybould was heading the B.C. Assembly of First Nations, that she ran into former prime minister Paul Martin. He later said she treated him to a “brilliant exposition” on First Nations issues, which led to Martin talking her up in his Liberal circles. By 2013, newly minted Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau had heard enough to fly to Whitehorse to meet her. Their one-on-one so impressed Trudeau that only a few months later he was showcasing her to Liberals as a star political prospect at a Montreal party convention. (MacLean's)

It’s been a stunning 24 hours in Canadian politics since I wrote about former Attorney General and Minister of Justice Jody Wilson-Raybould taking a wrecking ball to the Parliament of Canada. (True North)

As the Liberal government descends into full-blown crisis, Conservatives could take some satisfaction that this is all happening in part because of a long-ago measure they implemented precisely to catch Liberal scandals. (National Post)

Former Attorney General and Minister of Justice Jody Wilson-Raybould took a wrecking ball to the House of Commons today with her testimony before the Standing Committee on Justice when she described the pressure, direct and indirect, interference applied to her and her Chief of Staff to abandon the prosecution of SNC-Lavalin over bribery charges resulting from business dealings in Libya. (True North)

More:

The sex side of the SNC scandal