A former Liberal party president said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ruined David Johnston’s reputation by prevailing on his friend to set him free from a political scandal..“Dave Johnston had an enviable reputation, a lifetime of service, good judgment, trust,” Stephen Ledrew said in a YouTube rant posted May 26..“He is lying now, and he’s being forced to lie because of the position he’s put in by Justin Trudeau to take on that report.”.Johnston was appointed by Trudeau as a “special rapporteur” following a CSIS leak that alleged Chinese interference in Canadian elections. On May 23, Johnston announced the allegations weren’t well-founded enough to be worthy of investigation. .Ledrew said Johnston’s recent claims of a distant relationship with Trudeau contradict what he told reporter Robert Fife a year ago. At the time Johnston said he had known Trudeau since childhood and they had conversations and meals together..“Johnston, as I predicted, should have recused himself, he should have said, ‘I am too close to this, I’m not going to do it.’ He didn’t. He was prevailed upon to do it and now he is ruined. No matter what he does, he is finished. Justin Trudeau does that to people.”.Ledrew said Trudeau also advanced himself by the ouster of former Newfoundland Liberal MP Scott Andrews. While the Harper Conservatives were in power, Andrews introduced a successful private member’s Bill C-464. The bill, dubbed Zachary’s Law, was named for Zachary Turner, a child killed by his mother. .The bill changed the Criminal Code of Canada to allow courts to refuse bail to those accused of serious crimes if they were a threat to their children. As Governor General of Canada, David Johnston gave royal assent to the bill in December 2010. However, Andrews was ousted from Liberal caucus in 2014 after accusations of misconduct from two NDP MPs..“Justin thought he caught him on a very small peccadillo, fired him, got all kinds of favours from women and women's reputations on this one. And Scott Andrews’ life was finished as a member of Parliament. It doesn't matter to Trudeau; it's going to help him stay in power.”.Ledrew said it only makes sense Johnston did not recuse himself because Trudeau had something to hide. He said it was also “common sense” that “a friend doesn’t judge a friend.”.The Liberal party boss from 1998 to 2003 said the situation reminded him of the SNC Lavalin scandal..“There is something very stinky going on, and we have to get to the bottom of it. So when the people are saying, let's just finish this, let's just wrap it up — this is bigger than just any Chinese government interference in Canada. This is something that's going on in Ottawa with the insiders and they are lying. And the honorable people are now forced to lie to try to maintain their position. And it just stinks to high heavens,” Ledrew said..“And even CSIS is now being brought into this. And the government is saying, ‘Oh, you didn't tell us what was really going on.’ The only answer? A public inquiry to get to the bottom of the self-dealing, back scratching, indulgent Ottawa people.”
A former Liberal party president said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ruined David Johnston’s reputation by prevailing on his friend to set him free from a political scandal..“Dave Johnston had an enviable reputation, a lifetime of service, good judgment, trust,” Stephen Ledrew said in a YouTube rant posted May 26..“He is lying now, and he’s being forced to lie because of the position he’s put in by Justin Trudeau to take on that report.”.Johnston was appointed by Trudeau as a “special rapporteur” following a CSIS leak that alleged Chinese interference in Canadian elections. On May 23, Johnston announced the allegations weren’t well-founded enough to be worthy of investigation. .Ledrew said Johnston’s recent claims of a distant relationship with Trudeau contradict what he told reporter Robert Fife a year ago. At the time Johnston said he had known Trudeau since childhood and they had conversations and meals together..“Johnston, as I predicted, should have recused himself, he should have said, ‘I am too close to this, I’m not going to do it.’ He didn’t. He was prevailed upon to do it and now he is ruined. No matter what he does, he is finished. Justin Trudeau does that to people.”.Ledrew said Trudeau also advanced himself by the ouster of former Newfoundland Liberal MP Scott Andrews. While the Harper Conservatives were in power, Andrews introduced a successful private member’s Bill C-464. The bill, dubbed Zachary’s Law, was named for Zachary Turner, a child killed by his mother. .The bill changed the Criminal Code of Canada to allow courts to refuse bail to those accused of serious crimes if they were a threat to their children. As Governor General of Canada, David Johnston gave royal assent to the bill in December 2010. However, Andrews was ousted from Liberal caucus in 2014 after accusations of misconduct from two NDP MPs..“Justin thought he caught him on a very small peccadillo, fired him, got all kinds of favours from women and women's reputations on this one. And Scott Andrews’ life was finished as a member of Parliament. It doesn't matter to Trudeau; it's going to help him stay in power.”.Ledrew said it only makes sense Johnston did not recuse himself because Trudeau had something to hide. He said it was also “common sense” that “a friend doesn’t judge a friend.”.The Liberal party boss from 1998 to 2003 said the situation reminded him of the SNC Lavalin scandal..“There is something very stinky going on, and we have to get to the bottom of it. So when the people are saying, let's just finish this, let's just wrap it up — this is bigger than just any Chinese government interference in Canada. This is something that's going on in Ottawa with the insiders and they are lying. And the honorable people are now forced to lie to try to maintain their position. And it just stinks to high heavens,” Ledrew said..“And even CSIS is now being brought into this. And the government is saying, ‘Oh, you didn't tell us what was really going on.’ The only answer? A public inquiry to get to the bottom of the self-dealing, back scratching, indulgent Ottawa people.”
