Thread by @SpencerFernando

Jody Wilson-Raybould testimony beginning.

Says she was subjected to inappropriate pressure and interference, veiled threats, and consequences over a period of 4 months from clerk of privy council and PMO.

Thanks Canadians for their patience since original story broke.

Says events culminated in meeting with Trudeau when she was told she was being moved out of Attorney General role.

Already MASSIVE revelation. “Inappropriate pressure,” told she avoid “collision with PM”, “political interference,” “threats” and “consequences.”

Wilson-Raybould says decision had been made - to NOT give SNC-Lavalin a deferred prosecution. Yet pressure continued.

Says Minister Morneau’s Chief if Staff told Wilson-Rayboulds chief of staff that SNC-Lavalin needed deferred prosecution to stop them from “leaving Montreal” which would be bad because of the Quebec Election.

11 people put pressure on her says Jody Wilson-Raybould.

Morneau chief of staff told staff SNC lavalin viewed it as a ‘negotiation.’

Contacts on issue PMO began Sept 16, 2018, PMO staff brought up election in Quebec again.

Wilson-Raybould chief of staff made clear importance of prosecutorial discretion.

Had meeting with PM on September 17, brought it up, asked her to “help out” and find solution. Wilson-Raybould then explained law to Trudeau and had “made up her mind.” Trudeau then raised his concerns again.

Clerk of privy council was also there, pushed for DPA, said SNC-Lavalin would move to London, brought up Quebec election.

Trudeau then said he was an MP in Quebec, and there’s a Quebec election.

Wilson Raybould told Trudeau it was wrong to interfere. He said he wasn’t interfering, but that ‘solution’ was needed.

Note, the meeting wasn’t even supposed to be about that, but Trudeau brought up SNC-Lavalin immediately. Shocking.

SHOCKING: Clear pressure from Trudeau, who kept pushing and pushing and pushing, brought up Quebec Election, and called himself a “Quebec MP” as ‘justification’ for pushing for ‘solution’ even as Jody Wilson-Raybould repeated that she should not interfere.

Told Morneau that contacts from his office to hers on the issue had to stop. “They did not stop.”

Kept getting pushed to intervene over and over and over again, even as she made clear she wouldn’t.

Was told “we can have the best policy in the world, but we need to get re-elected.”

Trudeau told her to have another meeting with same PMO officials who kept pressuring her, even after she said DPA in SNC-Lavalin would not happen. They still kept pushing.

She explained “prosecutorial independence as a constitutional principle.” They kept pushing. She “told them to stop.” They didn’t stop.

Says “various” people told her to take political interests into account.

Now discussing meeting with Gerald Butts. Told him she need everyone to stop talking to her about SNC.

Butts then said she needed “to find a solution.”

Butts claimed he didn’t like the law because it was “passed by Harper.” Wilson-Raybould told him “that’s the law that they have.”

December 18, Butts and Telford summon her chief of staff to say that they felt Wilson-Raybould “wasn’t doing anything.”

Gerry told her chief of staff, “there’s no solution here that doesn’t require some interference,” Telford said “we don’t want to keep debating legalities.”

This testimony is absolutely DEVASTATING to the Trudeau PMO. They are being absolutely shredded.

Said they would line up people to write op-eds if she found ‘a solution.’

December 18: Clerk of Privy Council called her to discuss “where the PM is at.” Said Trudeau wanted to know why DPA isn’t being used. Said Trudeau would get “DPA done one way or another.”

Katie Telford will almost certainly have to resign. Butts also looks horrible here.

Clerk said it didn’t “look good” to have PM and Attorney General at loggerheads.

Wilson-Raybould brought up “Saturday night massacre” when Nixon ripped through the justice department in the US.

Wilson-Raybould gets call from PM told she was being shuffled. She says she thinks it was because of not giving DPA to SNC-Lavalin.

Her chief of staff, gets told that new Attorney General will “have to be prepared to discuss SNC-Lavalin with the Prime Minister.”

Says these events constituted pressure that was “inappropriate” and was “political interference.”

Watching all of this, it seems like Trudeau and the Clerk of the Privy Council - probably the two most powerful people in the country - were working for SNC-Lavalin, not the Canadian People or Canada’s Laws.

Now discussing her background as an Indigenous Leader, and how we do worse as a society when the foundation of the rule of law is not followed. Says she was brought up to be honest and act with integrity.

Her opening statement is now concluded. Now on to questions.

Lisa Raitt now asking questions.

Wilson-Raybould says order in council stops here from sharing info that could be important to committee.

Says she was concerned that she was removed as Attorney General because of refusal to give DPA, but says she has to “be careful” with what she can say.

Says role of Veterans Affairs Minister was very important. Adds that if an order had been issued by new Attorney General to give DPA to SNC-Lavalin that she would have resigned from cabinet immediately.

Says conversations were “inappropriate” when PM brought up Quebec election and his status as a “Quebec MP,” both of which are not allowed to be considered under the law in DPA issues.

NDP MP Murray Rankin, who has taught law students, that he’s “very shaken” by what he’s heard.

Liberals try saying that Trudeau told Jody Wilson-Raybould that “the decision was always yours.” She says he did not sau that. Libs on the Committee doing desperate damage control for Trudeau and failing miserably.

Wilson-Raybould says meetings were about imposing “extraordinary pressure” on her to change her mind on SNC-Lavalin Deferred Prosecution Agreement.

Wilson-Raybould now discusses ‘smear campaigns’ against her m, says she “loved being Minister of Justice and Attorney General.”

Khalid tries to discredit Wilson-Raybould, gets wrecked instead. Tried claiming what Wilson-Raybould was like at cabinet, Wilson-Raybould says “you would have no knowledge” of what happens at cabinet table.