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But Wynne and her cadre of Liberal bigwigs had someone else in mind to fill Cimino’s seat. She announced the day after Olivier blew the whistle on party brass she was appointing Thibeault as the Liberal candidate.

That same day or the day before, Thibeault notified federal NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair in an email he was quitting the party to be appointed to run for the Grits in the byelection.

Judging from the information filed by the OPP, it would appear Sorbara had conversations with Thibeault from mid-November 2014 until the day of the byelection, Feb. 6, 2015, and that she promised him considerations for accepting the nomination.

Thibeault has never been accused of any wrongdoing in the scandal, but has been slammed by New Democrats, Liberals and people of other political persuasions for leaving the NDP to run for the Liberals.

Thibeault won the byelection handily. Olivier ran as an independent and placed third.

Wynne told The Sudbury Star in December 2014, after announcing Thibeault’s appointment as candidate, she had not promised him any favours, nor did he ask for any, to jump from the NDP to the provincial Grits.

Both Lougheed and Sorbara are to appear Nov. 21 in the Ontario Court of Justice in Sudbury on the charges.

Sorbara ran Wynne’s campaign in the June 2014 general election and remained one of her closest advisors until Tuesday when she stepped down.

In December 2014, Olivier told reporters Lougheed visited him at his workplace to ask him not to seek the nomination. He said Sorbara called him a day or two later to urge him to withdraw his name.