LIVE UPDATES: Trudeau's top officials testify on foreign interference allegations

| April 09, 2024 | Be the first to comment

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The Foreign Interference Commission continues this morning, April 9, 2024, with government officials including Nathalie Drouin, Trudeau's social security advisor and former deputy Justice Minister, as well as Janice Charette, who previously served as the clerk of the privy council.

Also appearing are Katie Telford, Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister, Dominic Rochon, Deputy Minister at the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) and Chief Information Officer of Canada. Rochon served as senior assistant deputy minister for the national and cyber security branch of Public Safety Canada at the time.

Additionally, Rob Stewart, Deputy Minister of Public Safety Canada, is scheduled to testify, among others.

Follow along with live updates from the hearing with Sheila Gunn Reid on X, or on the page below:

Back at the foreign interference commission this morning.

Testifying are Nathalie Drouin, Trudeau's social security advisor, previously deputy Justice Minister, and Janice Charette, who served as the clerk of the privy council.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) April 9, 2024

After a meeting with the PMO, CSIS withdrew a report about PRC meddling in the Liberal nomination of Han Dong in Don Valley North in 2019. pic.twitter.com/1t4Lb0qHVt
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) April 9, 2024

CPC lawyer Nando DeLuca presses Janice Charette, then clerk of the privy council and Canada's top bureaucrat, about who exactly demanded that a CSIS report about PRC interference in favour of Liberal MP Han Dong in 2019 be recalled.

The withdrawal of the report happened after a… pic.twitter.com/gf8s0n2BPX
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) April 9, 2024

Now testifying:

Dominic Rochon, at the time, senior assistant deputy minister for the national and cyber security branch of Public Safety Canada.

And Rob Stewart, Deputy Minister of Public Safety Canada.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) April 9, 2024

"students were provided falsified documents to allow them to vote, despite not being residents of DVN (Don Valley North). The documents were provided by individuals associated with a known proxy agent" pic.twitter.com/92ACrDwi0V
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) April 9, 2024

A briefing note to Trudeau prepared by PCO on November 30, 2022 (the interpreter says September, but the note says something different).

What was known and when about the 2019 election interference.

(PM needed someone to remind when he learned of the foreign interference)… pic.twitter.com/7yHL7et10A
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) April 9, 2024

Dominic Rochon, at the time, senior assistant deputy minister for the national and cyber security branch of Public Safety Canada.

And Rob Stewart, Deputy Minister of Public Safety Canada.

Neither can say what was done about the information contained in an Oct 1, 2019, CSIS… pic.twitter.com/dp0oyzdTR7
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) April 9, 2024

Up next at the foreign interference commission.

Katie Telford: Trudeau's chief of staff

Brian Clow: Trudeau's deputy chief of staff

Patrick Traverse: senior global affairs advisor to Justin Trudeau.

Jeremy Broadhurst: former chief of staff to Chrystia Freeland (liberal…
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) April 9, 2024

Telford tells the commission she challenges security officials when officials flag MPs or officials for security concerns.

She doesn't want their political careers stalled. pic.twitter.com/2ctDl8GaIY
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) April 9, 2024

This is WILD.

Senior PMO officials, including the Prime Minister, were telling CSIS they were wrong when CSIS came to them with intel reports about foreign interference. pic.twitter.com/VXnLg3pdlK
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) April 9, 2024

Senior PMO advisor Jeremy Broadhurst, who was also the LPC campaign director, was shown CSIS reporting about the 2019 nomination of Han Dong in DVN, detailing PRC interference.

He advised Trudeau to do nothing, and that's what Trudeau did. pic.twitter.com/EmQaLb0KeI
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) April 9, 2024

The LCP campaign director told the commission he investigated the Liberal nomination of Han Dong for PRC influence and, wouldn't you know it, he found nothing wrong.

Ok then. pic.twitter.com/hqLQGCtVzR
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) April 9, 2024

Telford claims to be shocked, SHOCKED! that the PRC preferred a Liberal government. pic.twitter.com/y05t2Bdi56
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) April 9, 2024

Telford tells the Commission lawyer that it is her responsibility to protect politicians whose careers may stall if they are flagged for security issues in a way she thinks may be inaccurate/unfair.

She was telling CSIS they were wrong?! pic.twitter.com/tgJbi4vELn
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) April 9, 2024

Telford is shown her own notes where she is worried about amplifying the CPC narrative about foreign interference.

Comically, she tries to claim that she meant the PRC was amplifying the Conservative narrative.

No one believes this, Katie. The Conservatives were the targets… pic.twitter.com/cd3XJf0BP5
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) April 9, 2024

PMO officials wanted to reclassify top secret security documents to help Han Dong clear his name when he was accused of telling the PRC to keep the Two Michaels in jail to help the Liberals.

A previous doc said Dong "expressed the view that even if the PRC released the 'Two… pic.twitter.com/9ItEbRstph
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) April 9, 2024

Han Dong's lawyer and Telford want us to believe that CSIS just doesn't understand that busing in voters is normal during a nomination race.

(What's not normal is a bus full of mandarin speaking foreign national high school students from a private school outside of Don Valley… pic.twitter.com/0E5nQL5GPl
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) April 9, 2024

Trudeau's deputy Chief of Staff called the Buffalo Chronicle an "obvious example of foreign interference."

But as we heard all day today, PMO senior staff didn't think the PRC sending buses full of foreign national students to vote for Han Dong was foreign interference. pic.twitter.com/x3hT5NZwV4
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) April 9, 2024

LIVE: Trudeau's chief of staff, other top officials testify at election interference inquiry:

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The Canadian Press / Adrian Wyld