RCMP interview Han Dong’s financial agent on allegations of foreign interference
The RCMP asked David Pretlove, an Ontario Liberal aide, about the location of the Han Dong nomination ballots. They were destroyed following the vote, he said.
The RCMP secretly interviewed a Liberal organizer over his role in Han Dong’s 2019 nomination race. The police force refused disclosure as the investigation is ongoing.
David Pretlove, an Ontario Liberal aide, met with the RCMP in November 2023. He was the declared "financial agent" for the campaign.
"I have always been diligent to follow election rules, dating back to 2013," Dong earlier wrote to Global News.
A Global News report, alleging potential ties to China, prompted Dong to sit as an Independent last March 24. No charges have been filed by the RCMP against the incumbent.
When the "finance agent" met with two officers in Toronto, he was asked about alleged foreign interference in the Dong nomination campaign, reported Global News. He was not asked to sign a statement.
Lojko says he did not think international students could vote for Dong.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) April 2, 2024
But for some reason Dong campaigned at a private high school outside of his riding, occupied by Mandarin speaking international students, and then that school bused in students to vote in the nomination.… pic.twitter.com/0FLxd2JtYi
"It was a conversation more so than answering any questions," Pretlove clarified in an interview with Global. "There was no indication that I should bring counsel… They were just trying to get their heads around how this process worked."
It remains unclear whether criminal allegations have been laid over possible campaign finance breaches.
As well, they inquired about fundraising for nomination races, and how voters were allegedly transported to the nomination vote.
The Foreign Interference Commission learned Dong’s campaign allegedly bussed Chinese students from New Oriental International College Academy in Markham, Ontario, which is not located in the riding of Don Valley North.
A secret memo, tabled as evidence to the commission, revealed international students received veiled threats from the Chinese Consul, implying their student visas would be in jeopardy and their families would face dire consequences should they not support Dong.
Only party members over age 14 with some proof of residence are entitled to vote in a nomination meeting.
Han Dong, the former Liberal MP who left caucus over the Chinese Communist Party allegedly assisting his election campaign, testifies after a long pause that he's heard reports of Chinese interference but "personally (hasn't) seen any evidence of it."https://t.co/irUitH5vNc pic.twitter.com/VpD2nqdfWs
— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) April 3, 2024
The RCMP specifically asked Pretlove about the location of the nomination ballots. He said they were destroyed following the vote, in accordance with Liberal Party of Canada policy.
The federal agency refused disclosure of the meeting transcript, citing the records are exempt amid an ongoing investigation.
Pretlove has not been called to testify yet at the Foreign Interference Commission. The aide told Global he did not observe any electoral irregularities during the nomination race.
MP Dong, who testified at the inquiry, also claimed he saw no evidence of foreign meddling in Canadian politics. That contravenes the findings reached by Foreign Interference Inquiry Commissioner Marie-Josee Hogue in her initial report.
The report writes there were irregularities in the Don Valley North Liberal nomination by unidentified individuals with ties to China. It could not be ascertained if Dong knew about the alleged bussing of Chinese students from outside the riding.
BREAKING: Liberal MP Han Dong allegedly suggested to Han Tao, China's consul general in Toronto, that releasing the two Michaels would benefit the Conservatives in the polls in February 2021.
— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) March 22, 2023
READ MORE: https://t.co/8iygr5xBhppic.twitter.com/h0Tvl21Bfz
In April, MP Dong testified he recruited these students from a local student residence but said he did not know who organized the transport.
The RCMP earlier launched several investigations into allegations of foreign interference in Canadian elections. No details have been released.
The member of Parliament continues to pursue litigation against Corus, the parent company of Global News, for its foreign interference coverage. It helped trigger the foreign interference inquiry.
A Superior Court judge ruled Dong received "indisputable" damage to his reputation, as a result of the reporting.
"The defendants may have outed a villain and be lauded for it, or they may have wrongfully accused an innocent man, and if so, they should be embarrassed," the decision reads. A court order mandated Global News pay his legal costs in June.
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