OTTAWA — National security Daniel Jean says it was important to brief the media about the prime minister's to India to dispel "co-ordinated misinformation" about the presence of a convicted attempted assassin at an event on the trouble-plagued trip.
Jean appeared today before the House of Commons public safety and national security committee to explain his role in the controversy, which has plagued Justin Trudeau's government for weeks.
Jean has been at the centre of a political uproar over the trip after giving a background briefing to reporters in which he suggested factions in the Indian government were behind the embarrassing revelation that a convicted attempted assassin had been invited to two prime ministerial events.
Jaspal Atwal, a B.C. Sikh convicted of attempting to assassinate an Indian minister in 1986 during a visit to British Columbia, was photographed at one event in Mumbai with the prime minister's wife, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau.
Is Trudeau telling the truth?Is Justin Trudeau telling the truth? Justin Trudeau’s National Security Advisor is appearing before committee. It’s unprecedented that someone in his position must cover for the Prime Minister’s disastrous decisions, but we appreciate the National Security Advisor’s time. Today we’ll find out if Justin Trudeau is telling the truth on the Atwal Affair and his infamous India trip.
Posted by Andrew Scheer on Monday, 16 April 2018
His invitation to a second event was rescinded after news of his presence broke.
During the briefing, Jean advanced the theory that rogue factions in the Indian government arranged for Atwal's attendance in a bid to prevent Prime Minister Narendra Modi from becoming too cosy with a foreign government they believe is sympathetic to extremist Sikh separatists.
