CBC report reveals police handling of Jaffer led to charges being dropped

OTTAWA, Ont. – CBC Television’s The National is reporting that Crown prosecutors were forced to abandon drunk-driving and drug possession charges against former Conservative MP Rahim Jaffer because of actions taken by police, which included a strip search.

Jaffer was arrested by Ontario Provincial Police last September when he was caught speeding. Police later charged him with impaired driving, cocaine possession and dangerous driving.

Earlier this year, Jaffer pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of careless driving, igniting a storm of controversy about how the former parliamentarian got the break.

The report by anchor Peter Mansbridge says lawyers for Jaffer attempted to get through to him at a police station in Caledon, Ont. while he was undergoing a breathalyzer test.

Jaffer had spoken briefly to legal aid lawyers, and the report says police had told his Calgary-based counsel that he could not break away to speak to them. The CBC also reported that his alcohol levels were only slightly above the legal limit.

The report also said that Jaffer had been strip-searched. Legal experts interviewed by the CBC suggested the move was highly unusual for a person with no prior police record who could be easily identified and located afterward.

The CBC said it put its story together based on confidential conversations with sources familiar with the case.

A request for comment was sent to Jaffer, with no immediate response late Tuesday. The CBC did not have any comment from the former MP on their claim on why charges against him had been abandoned.

In late February, Jaffer’s lawyer, Howard Rubel, had said a resolution had been reached in his client’s case, but did not elaborate on details.

In March, Jaffer pleaded guilty to careless driving. Charges of cocaine possession and drunk driving were withdrawn.

The judge said he hoped the former politician recognized the break he was getting.

Justice Doug Maunder fined Jaffer 500-dollars – saying he would not interfere with the joint submission by the Crown and defence.

The incident exploded in the news again last week, when details emerged about the business contacts Jaffer had been meeting with earlier that evening.

One of those contacts, Nazim Gillani, is currently facing an unrelated fraud charge related to a wire transfer. He had told other associates in an email after his meeting with Jaffer that thanks to the former MP, the doors of the Prime Minister’s Office would be open to them.

Jaffer’s business partner, Patrick Glemaud, said Tuesday that suggestion was ridiculous because Jaffer and Stephen Harper disliked each other, and their company did not do any paid business with Gilani at any time. Gillani has also through his lawyer said that the email was “overly enthusiastic.”

Harper turfed Jaffer’s wife, Helena Guergis, from the Conservative caucus in the wake of the stories, citing unspecified allegations against her that he had referred to the RCMP and the ethics commissioner.

The Commons ethics commissioner has said that based on the information she has, she is unable to proceed with an inquiry.