New accusations of political interference surface against the PMO in trial of a suspended Vice-Admiral

Another accusation of political interference has been thrown against the Prime Minister’s Office today.
The defence lawyer of former Vice-Admiral Mark Norman, who is in court for a breach of trust case, accused the Prime Minister’s Office of trying to direct the case against her client.
The former Vice-Admiral is being charged with orchestrating a leak of cabinet secrets to a Quebec shipyard and a CBC journalist regarding a shipbuilding deal in 2015.
The accusations come after the defence attorney discovered that prosecutors were meeting with members of the Privy Council Office to discuss “trial strategy”.
“The prosecution should not be discussing trial strategy with the Prime Minister’s Office’s right-hand person,” said defence attorney, Christine Mainville.
Mainville claims that the case involving the suspended Vice-Admiral is more concerning than the ongoing scandal with SNC-Lavalin.
“By all appearances, this is a more direct influencing of the prosecution. The attorney general is entirely bypassed. The Prime Minister’s Office, via its right arm the PCO, is dealing directly with the (Public Prosecution Service of Canada). And the prosecution service is allowing this to happen,” she said.
The allegations come soon after The Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner announced that they are launching a probe into accusations that the PMO attempted to interfere in a criminal charge against the Montreal-based construction giant SNC-Lavalin.
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