Szabo considers a Mulroney recall  

John Stewart

February 27, 2008

A parliamentary ethics committee chaired by Mississauga South MP Paul Szabo will meet behind closed doors tomorrow to decide whether they should issue a summons that would force former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney to testify again at an ongoing Airbus investigation. Mulroney has rejected a formal request to resume his testimony about the $300,000 in cash he accepted from German-Canadian businessman Karlheinz Schreiber.

Szabo said issuing a summons would be an unusual step but not impossible. He said his committee members will weigh the public interest in getting to the bottom of the so-called Airbus scandal against Mulroney's rights.

"Yes, you can," issue a summons, the 15-year Liberal veteran backbencher told

Once they receive a formal 10-page letter that Mulroney is forwarding to explain his position, the committee will formally respond, Szabo said.

The letter spells out Mulroney's belief that the investigation has run its course. It also says Mulroney has apologized for his ethical, but not illegal, misstep in taking cash from Schreiber, who faces extradition to Germany on charges of fraud, bribery and tax evasion.

Mulroney testified before committee in December that he accepted the cash-stuffed envelope from Schreiber for agreeing to lobby several foreign governments on his behalf for military contracts.

Subsequent evidence has since thrown doubt on that testimony.

Szabo says committee members need more information from the former Prime Minister. "Who he saw? When? Who was with him? What were the results? There's quite a few blanks there," Szabo said. NDP committee member Pat Martin criticized Mulroney for his decision not to take the stand again. "His failure to attend speaks volumes," Martin said.