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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau often trumpets his devotion to the rule of law.

Now, the SNC-Lavalin scandal suggests the Liberals will overrule the law when it suits them.

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This federal tendency is regionally selective, of course.

When the courts shut down the Trans Mountain pipeline last Aug. 30, the Liberals bravely took the ruling on the chin.

They bowed deeply to the rule of law and began more consultations. And that was it.

But when a giant Quebec company faces criminal prosecution on charges of corruption, the Liberals, including the PM himself, get on the phone.

The allegation is that former justice minister and attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould was pressured by the Prime Minister’s Office to drop plans for criminal prosecution, in favour of a negotiated settlement without trial.

After the Globe and Mail broke the story last week, it simmered along for a few days, and then exploded Tuesday when Wilson-Raybould suddenly quit cabinet.

On Monday, Trudeau had said the fact that she was still in his cabinet as veterans affairs minister showed there was no problem.

“Her presence in cabinet should actually speak for itself,” he said.

Now, so does her absence.

After she quit, Trudeau harshly criticized his ex-minister, saying he was surprised and disappointed she left.

If she felt something was being done wrong she should have told him personally last fall, he said repeatedly.

Two things about that.

Wilson-Raybould herself has not said a public word about the allegations of pressure. That was reported by the Globe based on sources.

And Trudeau himself, while he was levelling his ex-minister, again didn’t explicitly deny that she had been pressured.

The treatment was so tough you have to wonder if the PM is starting to worry about cabinet solidarity. Treasury Board president Jane Philpott put up a tweet effusively praising Wilson-Raybould.