Trudeau smugly acts like he’s above the law

Almost from the beginning of Lavscam it was clear that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had a smug and dismissive attitude toward the whole affair.

In February, when the news first broke that Trudeau improperly pressured the former attorney general to reverse a decision to go ahead with prosecuting SNC-Lavalin, he shamelessly went in front of the cameras and denounced the news as false.

That becomes much more difficult to argue following Jody Wilson-Raybould’s committee testimony at the end of February. That was when the Trudeau talking point shifted to become more or less “sure, we leaned on her, but it wasn’t illegal and it was all about protecting jobs!”

Now, following Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion’s findings last week that Trudeau broke the law by violating Sec. 9 of the Conflict of Interest Act, that message has shifted

once again. It’s instead become: “Sure, we leaned on her, sure that Dion guy ruled it broke the law but it was still all about protecting jobs!” That’s a tougher circle to square.

After going dormant for several months, Lavscam is all of a sudden back with a vengeance and has taken us into the realm of actual legal consequences. A line has been crossed, where before we were speaking mostly about political consequences and managing the message to now where a quasi-judicial commissioner has ruled that a law was broken. That it is a toothless law that does not come with jail time or any other serious penalty doesn’t change the fact that Lavscam has now crossed into legal terrain.

“The RCMP is examining this matter carefully with all available information and will take appropriate actions as required,” an RCMP spokesperson said.

That’s something. They very well may still come knocking at the door of the PMO between now and election day.

While Trudeau and his associates have argued that they never explicitly directed Wilson-Raybould to call off the dogs on SNC-Lavalin is beside the point. The Criminal Code stipulates that obstruction of justice laws apply to “every one who wilfully attempts in any manner to obstruct, pervert or defeat the course of justice in a judicial proceeding.”

It’s not about whether you explicitly do it or succeed in doing it. It’s about “attempts in any manner”. Take that and overlay it with Dion’s ruling, which notes that “the evidence abundantly shows that Mr. Trudeau knowingly sought to influence Ms. Wilson-Raybould both directly and through the actions of his agents.” It does not look good for the PM.

You would think this is when Trudeau gets genuinely nervous and perhaps shows an ounce of contrition to bring down the heat. Instead, the opposite seems to be happening. The arrogance has kicked into overdrive and he is speaking not as if it’s the ethics commissioner’s position to judge him, but that it’s his position to judge the commissioner.

“Even though I disagree with some of his conclusions, I fully accept this report and take responsibility for everything that happened,” Trudeau said on Wednesday. “Where I disagree with the commissioner, among others, is where he says, and takes a strong perspective, that any contact with the (attorney general) on this issue was improper.”

The nerve of it. Dion did not “say” anything. He made a ruling in his capacity as ethics commissioner. Likewise, he does not offer up “a strong perspective.” He offers up a ruling. Trudeau would have us believe that he’s merely having a little debate about the finer points of some inconsequential legislation with a public servant. That’s nonsense. Although he can get away with it for now if only because of the toothlessness of the Ethics Commissioner and the minor consequences of being found in violation of the Conflict of Interest Act.

Will he able to get away with it if the RCMP get involved? Don’t bet on it.