Brazeau weighing his options after Crown drops Senate expense charges

— Sen. Patrick Brazeau and his lawyer took direct aim Wednesday at the RCMP, calling the force’s investigation of the Quebec senator wrong-headed and a waste of public money.

Lawyer Christian Deslauriers said Brazeau was considering his options — which include taking the Mounties to court — after the Crown withdrew fraud and breach of trust charges stemming from his Senate housing expenses.

Brazeau would likely face a hard time taking the Senate to court if he wanted to recoup the expenses it made him repay, or the salary he lost after having spent the last two years being suspended without pay, his lawyer said.

“Quite frankly, it’s a big waste of money,” Deslauriers said of the investigation.

“There were a lot of resources that were put on this for no reason and quite frankly, this destroyed Mr. Brazeau for three years now. He’s been having a hard time with this.”

Brazeau did not attend Wednesday’s brief hearing in person, although he did express himself on Twitter shortly after the charges were dropped.

“I wouldn’t wish false accusations on my worst enemy,” Brazeau tweeted. “It almost ruined my life. I was thrown under the bus, but I survived.”

The RCMP did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

During the length of the investigation and subsequent court case, Brazeau came to face separate assault, drug and drunk-driving charges, none of which resulted in a conviction.

In one of his darkest moments, he made an attempt on his own life.