Trudeau, PMO provide conflicting testimonies on whether he reads national security briefings
At the Commission on Foreign Interference, Trudeau testified to receiving national security memos by word of mouth. He claimed to have never read any documents, which his Chief of Staff, Katie Telford, disputes. She claimed that the prime minister reads his briefings more than once.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his staff are telling conflicting stories on foreign interference, as their testimonies aren’t adding up.
At the Commission on Foreign Interference, Trudeau testified to receiving national security memos by word of mouth. He claimed to have never read any documents.
Trudeau appears to not take high level security briefings all that seriously.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) April 10, 2024
If you want him to know something, don't expect him to read it. You'll have to tell him and hope it worms its way into his brain. pic.twitter.com/MLJGn5hDCF
“The best way to convey information to me is to receive a direct briefing from my national security adviser and intelligence adviser,” Trudeau told lawyers at the China inquiry.
“The only way to guarantee to make sure that I receive the necessary information is to give me an in-person briefing or over a secure line, if necessary,” he added.
Commissioner Hogue asked Trudeau what investigation he had undertaken to determine if Liberal Han Dong had received CCP help through foreign national mandarin speaking high school students who were bused in to vote in his nomination.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) April 10, 2024
"We are not a forensic organization," he… pic.twitter.com/PjjB3TVNll
However, that counters testimony from his Chief of Staff Katie Telford at the Procedure and House Affairs Committee, who confirmed the prime minister spent “a lot of time” reading documents.
“Everything the prime minister receives; he spends a lot of time with and most definitely reads. I can confirm that if they are documents that he received, he absolutely read them,” she told MPs.
“A key part of my role is ensuring he receives advice and information from all parts of government so that he can make the best decisions possible. This includes briefings from the national security and intelligence adviser,” continued Telford.
Trudeau’s chief of staff could not specify what was discussed, but she claimed the prime minister reads his briefings, more than once.
This is WILD.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) April 9, 2024
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
On March 20, 2023, a meeting between Trudeau, the director of CSIS and an analyst from the spy agency, churned up questions from staff at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on evidence of foreign interference at the 2019 Don Valley North Liberal nomination.
"In this particular meeting there wasn't new information presented,” PMO adviser Jeremy Broadhurst earlier testified at the Commission. "There was a back and forth where we questioned some of what was being told to us," he noted.
On September 30, 2019, Trudeau received an in-person briefing on Han Dong’s nomination before boarding a plane for the stretch run of the 2019 election campaign.
He never followed up on the allegations of foreign interference but believes Party officials might have.
Trudeau was briefed in 2017 about the threat of foreign interference by the PRC.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) April 10, 2024
Says he was very aware of the ways countries can meddle in Canadian politics. pic.twitter.com/C5p4gVv2FL
Broadhurst, who served as the Liberal Party’s campaign director, received intelligence reports on Dong’s nomination, only to advise that the Prime Minister take no further action last Spring.
"We examined our own nomination process ... And based on that review we saw nothing that stood out as irregular," he said.
Azam Ishmael, national director of the Liberal Party, earlier testified to no irregularities in Don Valley North.
According to the inquiry, Dong’s campaign bused foreign students from New Oriental International College Academy in Markham, Ontario, which is not located in Don Valley North. They are alleged to have voted under duress from China’s Toronto Consulate.
During the initial briefing, Trudeau suggested the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) did not recommend further action. He clarified that Elections Canada is responsible for reviewing concerns surrounding the electoral process.
Dong’s nomination meeting remains under investigation by the Elections Commissioner.
This is a developing story.
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