‘Hounded, veiled threats’: Canada PM Justin Trudeau’s former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould tells of political interference in corruption case

Jody Wilson-Raybould testified that 11 people in Trudeau’s government tried to interfere in her decision to prosecute Quebec engineering giant SNC-Lavalin

Wilson-Raybould said she ‘looked him in the eye’ as she asked Trudeau if he was politically interfering with her role as attorney general

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Liberal MP and former Canadian justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould arrives to testify before the House of Commons justice committee on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters

Published: 6:43am, 28 Feb 2019Updated: 9:27pm, 28 Feb 2019

Canada’s former attorney general testified Wednesday she experienced a consistent and sustained effort by many people in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government to inappropriately pressure her into vetoing the criminal prosecution of a major Canadian engineering company and said it included “veiled threats.”

Jody Wilson-Raybould said Wednesday that 11 people tried to interfere in her prosecutorial discretion and said in a meeting with Trudeau, the prime minister raised the issue and asked her to “help out” with the case.

Jody Wilson-Raybould appears at the House of Commons Justice Committee on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday. Photo: AP

Wilson-Raybould said she “looked him in the eye” as she asked Trudeau if he was politically interfering with her role as attorney general, and if he was “I would strongly advise against it”.

“No, no, no. We just need a find a solution,” she said Trudeau responded.