DEVELOPING: Justin Trudeau Under Investigation

According to a report from The Counter Signal, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) confirmed they’re investigating Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for “obstruction of justice for the allegation he pressured the former Attorney General, Jody Wilson-Raybould, to stop prosecuting SNC Lavalin.”

“Federal Police are investigating Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for obstruction of justice. If indicted, Trudeau could face up to 10 years in jail,” journalist Keean Bexte tweeted.

BREAKING: Federal Police are investigating Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for obstruction of justice. If indicted, Trudeau could face up to 10 years in jail. https://t.co/wDbUVRkUi7

— Keean Bexte (@TheRealKeean) June 19, 2023

“A May 25 letter from the RCMP confirmed an investigation into obstruction of justice allegations against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other key officials is ongoing,” Rebel News Canada wrote.

A May 25 letter from the RCMP confirmed an investigation into obstruction of justice allegations against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other key officials is ongoing.https://t.co/OHOAR4f5zC

— Rebel News Canada (@RebelNews_CA) June 19, 2023

Rebel News provided background information about the allegations:

The allegations stem from bribery and fraud charges against SNC-Lavalin over giving millions to the son of former Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi for helping the company secure lucrative construction projects.

SNC-Lavalin Construction paid $127 million to two shell companies between 2001 and 2011, according to an agreed statement of facts. About $47 million of that money went to Saadi Gadhafi.

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Non-profit organization Democracy Watch filed an Access to Information Act (ATIA) and shared its response from the RCMP Monday.

“After 4 years, RCMP confirms it is investigating PM Justin Trudeau and other Liberal Cabinet members for obstruction of SNC-Lavalin prosecution. 86 pages of 96-page Access to Information Act request document fully redacted,” Democracy Watch tweeted.

After 4 years, RCMP confirms it is investigating PM Justin Trudeau and other Liberal Cabinet members for obstruction of SNC-Lavalin prosecution. 86 pages of 96-page Access to Information Act request document fully redacted https://t.co/JNq7iTKvpp #cdnpoli #qcpoli #cdnfoi

— Democracy Watch (@DemocracyWatchr) June 19, 2023

The Counter Signal reports:

The RCMP not only confirmed they are investigating Trudeau, but also former Finance Minister Bill Morneau and other government officials.

It’s the first time the RCMP has confirmed they are officially investigating the allegations against the PM.

After Wilson-Raybould made the allegations, she later appeared before the House of Commons Justice Committee, saying that she “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 to secure a deferred prosecution agreement [DPA] with SNC-Lavalin.”

Among these people was Trudeau, who Wilson-Raybould says tried to influence her decision and convince her not to pursue action against the engineering giant.

Trudeau ultimately fired Wilson-Raybould from her position as Attorney General after she refused to succumb to the pressure.

Trudeau denied these allegations, but then-ethics commissioner Mario Dion disagreed with the PM.

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“Justin Trudeau and his former senior officials are facing an RCMP investigation, four years after the Prime Minister was found guilty of breaking ethics laws for interfering in the criminal prosecution of SNC Lavalin. Interfering in a criminal prosecution is an incredibly serious offence that deserves to be investigated with the full scope and weight of Canada’s national police force,” Canadian House of Commons member Michael Barrett wrote.

BREAKING: Justin Trudeau and his former senior officials are facing an RCMP investigation, four years after the Prime Minister was found guilty of breaking ethics laws for interfering in the criminal prosecution of SNC Lavalin. Interfering in a criminal prosecution is an…

— Michael Barrett (@MikeBarrettON) June 19, 2023

Democracy Watch stated in a Monday press release:

Today, Democracy Watch released the response it received recently to its Access to Information Act (ATIA) filed with the RCMP on July 27, 2022. The RCMP’s response letter, dated May 25, 2023, confirms it is investigating the allegation that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, former Finance Minister Bill Morneau, some members of their staff, and former Clerk of the Privy Council Michael Wernick, obstructed justice by pressuring then-Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould to stop the prosecution of SNC-Lavalin in 2018.

Attached to the response letter is a 96-page document with 86 pages fully redacted because “this matter is currently under investigation.” Only Democracy Watch’s 5-page February 2021 letter to the RCMP is unredacted, and four pages are fully redacted because they are “not relevant” and one page because it is “redundant”.

This is the first public statement the RCMP has made about the situation since August 14, 2019 when it stated that it was examining the situation carefully. On September 10, 2019, the Globe and Mail reported that Ian Shugart, then-Clerk of the Privy Council, had refused to waive Cabinet confidence to allow government witnesses to provide full information to the RCMP, and that sources within the RCMP said it was putting its examination on hold through the fall 2019 federal election campaign period. The next day former Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould stated publicly that she had been interviewed by the RCMP about the actions of the Prime Minister and others, as reported by the Globe and Mail.

Read the RCMP response letter HERE: