Ottawa

Oliphant Extra: Brian Mulroney and the Mystery of the Missing Mountie-Related Records

Hey, remember that RCMP security detail that Brian Mulroney claimed drove him to and from that now infamous August 27th meeting at the Mirabel hotel, when he made the fateful decision to accept that first cash-stuffed envelope from Karlheinz Schreiber? if not, this Canadian Press story might refresh your memory:

In his previous testimony on Friday, Mulroney said he hesitated to take cash payments from Schreiber but accepted his explanation that he was “an international businessman” who dealt only in cash.

In August 1993, when he received the first of three cash instalments from Schreiber, he was reluctant to take the envelope containing 75, $1,000 bills, Mulroney told the inquiry.

“He (Schreiber) told me it was cash in response to hesitation that I evinced,” the former prime minister testified about his meeting at a Mirabel airport hotel.

“When I saw it, I knew it wasn’t a cheque.”

Mulroney added, “I hesitated because I certainly felt that this was unusual.”

But Mulroney told Justice Jeffrey Oliphant he accepted the cash anyway and took the envelope — in a car driven by his RCMP security guards — to a rented cottage near Montreal and put it in a security box his wife had brought for her jewellery and other valuables.

Turns out there’s a funny story about that, too. (WARNING: PDF)

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