A veteran Ottawa citizen journalist accused of being a Russian asset by a former cabinet minister said it was “the height of irony” that a committee studying disinformation fell for it.
David Pugliese told the House of Commons Security Committee today that it was surprising that no member of the committee challenged the allegations made last month.
Chris Alexander, a former Conservative cabinet minister and ambassador to Afghanistan, made this claim at a meeting on October 24th.
Mr. Alexander presented documents to the committee that he said were KGB documents from 1984 to 1990 that clearly indicated that the Soviet spy agency considered Mr. Pugliese as a potential resource. It’s dark.
Lawmakers from all parties said they were caught off guard by the accusations, saying they had not had adequate time to review the documents.
Pugliese told the committee he was appearing as a witness to correct the record and protect himself from “character assassination” carried out under parliamentary privilege.
A translated version of the document submitted to the committee by Mr. Alexander refers to Mr. Pugliese by his first name and codename “Stuart,” and that an agent known as “Ivan” was tasked with establishing a relationship with him. It is stated that.
Mr. Pugliese says that contrary to what the documents say, he did not live in Ottawa in 1984 and did not work for the citizens of Ottawa in the 1980s.
In an earlier interview with The Canadian Press, Pugliese said the documents submitted to the committee pertain to an ongoing civil lawsuit over reports he made about allegedly defective equipment being sent to Ukraine. Said it was the same.
Since the Oct. 24 meeting, journalists said they have received death threats and been told their families should be deported.
Alexander told the committee that the documents are evidence of “a serious effort to undermine Canada’s national security and collective self-defence.”
The former MP told The Canadian Press last month that he stands by what he said before the committee.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
