Former prime minister Brian Mulroney has flatly rejected allegations he negotiated a lobbying deal with Karlheinz Schreiber while he was still in office, saying he promoted business on Schreiber's behalf only after stepping down. Mulroney appeared before the federal ethics committee Thursday to face questions about his dealings with the German-Canadian businessman, notably the $300,000 in cash payments he received from Schreiber in hotel rooms between 1993 and 1994. In an affidavit filed in an Ontario court last month, Schreiber alleged Mulroney received the money as part of a lobbying deal negotiated on June 23, 1993, two days before he left office. He also alleged a Mulroney adviser asked Schreiber to transfer funds in connection with Air Canada's 1988 purchase of Airbus planes to a Mulroney lawyer based in Switzerland. On Thursday, Mulroney angrily denied the allegations in Schreiber's affidavit. "All of the allegations in the affidavit are completely false. He will say anything, sign anything and do anything to avoid extradition," said Mulroney. Mulroney said Schreiber first proposed they work together during a meeting at a Mirabel airport hotel on Aug. 27, 1993. Schreiber suggested Mulroney use his status to internationally promote Thyssen armoured vehicles for peacekeeping missions, something Mulroney said he felt he could do. Mulroney said Schreiber then passed him a cash-stuffed envelope, saying he is an international businessman who only deals in cash. "I realize I made a serious error in judgment in receiving the payment in cash for this assignment, even though it was decidedly not illegal," said Mulroney. "That mistake in judgment was mine alone. I should have declined the offer. I should have insisted the payment be in a more transparent manner." Mulroney also said he received three payments of $75,000, for a total of $225,000, not three payments of $100,000. Mulroney said he regretted his relationship with Schreiber. "My second-biggest mistake in life, for which I have no one to blame but myself, is having accepted payments in cash from Karlheinz Schreiber, for a mandate he gave me after I left office," Mulroney said Thursday during his much-anticipated testimony before a federal ethics committee on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. "My biggest mistake in life was ever agreeing to be introduced to Karlheinz Schreiber in the first place." Mulroney began his testimony on Parliament Hill at about 9 a.m. ET and is expected to answer questions for four hours. His wife and four grown children accompanied him to the committee room where he is speaking, a room packed to capacity with journalists, many of whom arrived at 7:30 a.m. ET to secure their seats. Mulroney's payments, according to Schreiber, came from a secret account the businessman had created in Zurich, under the codename BRITAN. There is no evidence Mulroney knew where the money was coming from. Schreiber is suing Mulroney to recoup the money. Mulroney said Thursday that matter would be resolved by the courts. Schreiber, who is out on bail while he fights extradition to Germany to face fraud and bribery charges, contends that Mulroney did not provide the services. The allegations haven't been proven in court. Accepting Money From Schreiber a 'Mistake'
Source: CBC News
Posted: 12/13/07 11:43AM
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