A political meddling scandal threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's re-election bid was given fresh impetus Friday with the release of messages and a secret recording supplied by his former attorney general. The House of Commons justice committee, looking into the explosive allegations that Trudeau officials pressured attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould to shield engineering firm SNC-Lavalin from trial, released the materials from the now former official.
The controversy comes just months ahead of a re-election bid that looks increasingly uncertain for Trudeau, whose progressive, golden boy image had previously been unblemished. In the 43 pages of documents, Wilson-Raybould seeks to link her demotion to another portfolio in January to her resistance to allegedly undue pressure to settle the SNC-Lavalin case - which Trudeau and his staff have denied.
And she hints about why, a month later, she resigned from cabinet, saying she had decided "that I would immediately resign if the new attorney general decided to issue a directive in the SNC-Lavalin matter."
Her replacement as attorney general, David Lametti, has so far only said he is considering the issue. Montreal-based SNC-Lavalin was charged in 2015 with corruption over alleged bribes paid to secure contracts in Libya. Wilson-Raybould, Canada's first indigenous attorney general, refused to ask prosecutors to settle, and the trial is set to proceed.
But she later testified to lawmakers that she had faced "consistent and sustained" political pressure to intervene, including receiving "veiled threats" over her stance. Trudeau recently addressed the allegations, telling reporters in Ottawa that he had learned "lessons" from the crisis - but denying any wrongdoing.