EDMONTON—The leader of the United Conservative Party denied allegations that he helped organize or fund a candidate’s run for the party’s leadership in 2017 as a so-called kamikaze mission.

Kenney told reporters in Edmonton on Tuesday that he didn’t have a hand in organizing or funding the Jeff Callaway campaign, which is at the centre of the investigation.

“Mr. Callaway and I met before the leadership election. I was seeking his endorsement because he was the outgoing president of the Wildrose Party. He told me he intended to at least launch an exploratory campaign to run for the leadership. I didn’t think that was a great idea,” Kenney said.

“I was focused on getting as much support as I could for my campaign, and, frankly, in a leadership election, you’re trying to raise every dollar you can for your own campaign, not for other candidates.”

The office of Alberta’s election commissioner has an investigation probing claims of “irregular financial contributions” made during the UCP leadership race to Callaway — at least as of January. The office won’t comment publicly on investigations it’s carrying out.

Star Edmonton obtained a letter last month that was addressed to someone who participated in the investigation from the election commissioner telling them about concerns that an unnamed individual was trying to interfere with the probe. This type of activity could result in a heavy fine and jail time.

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Critics have alleged Callaway ran as a proxy for Kenney, with the intent of attacking Kenney’s main opponent, former Wildrose Party leader Brian Jean, allowing the now-UCP leader to stay about the fray.

Callaway eventually dropped out of the race and endorsed Kenney, who went on to beat Jean and is now the main opponent up against Premier Rachel Notley in the spring election. Callaway maintains his run was legitimate.

The plan was outlined in an audio recording of Wendy Adam, a longtime political organizer, who discussed it with unnamed individuals. The audio first started making the rounds on social media in early December.

In the recording, Adam tells two unidentified men that what she is about to tell them “has got to stay with you.” It’s unclear who taped the conversation.

“The reason that we’re running Jeff (Callaway) as a serious campaign is because Jeff will be able to say things about Brian Jean that Jason Kenney cannot.”

“It’s a kamikaze mission,” said one unidentified man.

“Exactly,” said Adam.

Happy Mann, a failed UCP nomination candidate, corroborated the plan outlined in the audio clip and told Star Edmonton he was at a meeting with Kenney and his team where the plan was drawn up and where funding the campaign was discussed.

Star Edmonton obtained an anonymous complaint sent to the election commissioner, Lorne Gibson, which listed a number of individuals who donated to Callaway and raised questions about their legitimacy.

Mann and two of his relatives each contributed $3,000 to the campaign, but he has declined to discuss the donations on the advice of his lawyer.

Former UCP MLA Prab Gill also raised concerns in the legislature about allegations that $40,000 in donations was made to Callaway’s campaign from a political action committee associated with Kenney. Gill sent his own complaint to the commissioner’s office in January listing several individuals who made donations numbering in the thousands of dollars.

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Under the province’s Election Finances and Contributions Disclosure Act, an individual can only donate their own money to a leadership campaign. Contravening the act could result in a $10,000 fine.

Star Edmonton has also learned that at least two retired police officers have been brought in by the commissioner’s office to assist in the investigation.

One is Ken Brander, formerly a detective with Edmonton’s police service and an expert in fraud and money laundering. The other is Dave Jennings, who served with the Calgary Police Service for 25 years.

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