Sue Bailey, Ottawa (Canadian Press) - Karlheinz Schreiber, a key player in the Airbus saga, says he was never questioned by the RCMP on the tangled affair that saw a red-faced Liberal government pay $2.1 million in related legal costs to former prime minister Brian Mulroney.
But the Mounties say they spoke to the former arms dealer and his lawyer several times between 2000 and 2006 as part of “a thorough investigation” into the delicate Airbus file.
Schreiber told a different tale Tuesday before the Commons all-party ethics committee during a second day of testimony.
“On the Airbus matter, I was never interviewed by the RCMP,” he said.
“You have never been interviewed by the RCMP on the whole Airbus thing?” said an incredulous Tom Mulcair, the New Democrat MP.
“No,” Schreiber said.
It was one of a few eyebrow-raising moments as Schreiber, wanted in Germany on fraud, bribery and tax evasion charges, testified for a second day.
And it’s a version of events the Mounties flatly deny.
“The RCMP conducted a thorough investigation which included numerous interviews with Mr. Schreiber and his counsel between 2000 and 2006,” Sgt. Sylvie Tremblay said in an interview.
Asked to confirm that those discussions were about Airbus, she said the flap over aircraft purchases was the central focus of the investigation.
“We talked to him.”
Later outside the Commons, Mulcair said Schreiber’s version, if true, is a political hot potato that lands squarely in Liberal laps.
“At the end of the day, the biggest explaining is going to have to come from the Liberals. Why did they drop the case?”
The $2.1-million settlement in 1997 to cover Mulroney’s legal and professional fees was a wincing embarrassment for the Liberal government at the time.
Mulroney sued for defamation after a 1995 letter from the RCMP to Swiss authorities was leaked. It revealed the Mounties were linking the former Tory prime minister’s name to kickbacks connected to the purchase of 34 Airbus jets by then Crown-owned Air Canada.
The Liberals apologized for the so-called letter of request, but not for the RCMP probe which continued another six years. The Mounties announced in 2003 that they were shutting down their criminal investigation of Mulroney and Airbus for lack of evidence.
2 responses so far ↓
1 putputRCMPspins // Dec 6, 2007 at 16:26
I think what happens is that their is a decision that is made as to which way the investigation should go and they only look for material that fits that mold, everything else is rejected as being insignificant.
The people’s perception because no one bothers to let them know is that everything is gathered and weighted in but it’s not the way things are done.
It doesn’t surprise me to hear that they may have not spoken to this man because he would have said something they didn’t want to hear at the time and instead that could explain why he is having trouble back home and they want to get him out of here.
This could be a significant way to get rid of this noisy man once and for all. Someone with money has to be behind this German to be able to hire such a lawyer like Edward Greenspan to fight for him like he has been doing?
Someone out there must still think he’s still valuable and worth fighting for.
It could be interesting to have those two sworn in to testify under oath at the same time in the same room in front of the committee and in front of the cameras. So far they are both attacking each other independently through the media calling out names but the he said and the I said would become all so clearer then wouldn’t it?
If the RCMP are really above board in their reports and action, why don’t they let a few good reporters hand chosen by the CBC Fifth Estate gain access to the Regina Academy and other areas of interest randomly chosen for a good duration of time to scrutinize the members rank and file officers of their choosing?
Then may be we can begin to believe what they are saying. All this publicity is really one sided and is typical and holds nothing really new.
Words are cheap! – can we now see those words backed UP with some CONCRETE action. Open the BACK DOORS and the BOOKS guys and let us peak into what the what you are really all about and then maybe we can begin to trust again as we make up our own minds, YES!
The former Commissioner resigned because he could be believed and now he is testifying at another inquiry about how CSIS was naughty and not nice and we must now believe he is now telling us the truth?
I think instead of going to Poland to investigate a poor helpless man who is now dead couldn’t you stay here in Canada and investigate the former Commissioner to see where he came from and what happen throughout his career? Instead of looking at 2 years only in Ottawa wasn’t he in charge of Major Crime in New Brunswick and the Kingsclear investigation that cleared one of their own?
What about the relationship between all those French Prime Ministers out of Quebec and this German arms dealer fellow?
It won’t be a significant issue if you allow a few reporters from several news cast across Canada into your ranks and file for a few months to six months to look over things, will it?
Wouldn’t this be easier on everyone and you can now be more comfortable and relaxed commenting as this may even help cleans the minds of some of those police officers and civilians out on stress leave, assuring them that things are really going to change now.
Think about it, it’s not like they would interfere in any important on going investigations all they would do is stand in interview and survey randomly members of the force and sit by as police officers are trained to their jobs.
It’s easy to give a good report about self but is it believable?
2 GetReal // Dec 7, 2007 at 00:35
Here here. Send a few through the training academy of a few police forces. Then send them to a nice rural, understaffed, overworked office then to a headquarters and lets get the report.
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