The Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs will not investigate how information was leaked to journalists about an appointment to the Supreme Court, despite Conservative Deputy Leader Lisa Raitt’s plea that he do so.

“My office is the intermediary between the judiciary and the executive, and the Judges Act does not provide me with any investigatory power,” Federal Judicial Affairs Commissioner Commissioner Marc A. Giroux wrote in a letter to Raitt on Wednesday, in response to one of her own, that was sent to his office late on Tuesday.

On Monday, CTV News first reported that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and former attorney general and justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould’s relationship “first began to fray” in 2017, over concerns of who would be named to the Supreme Court. CTV cited “sources familiar with the matter,” who said that Trudeau and Wilson-Raybould disagreed over the former attorney general’s pick, Manitoba Justice Glenn D. Joyal, because the prime minister was concerned that Joyal wasn’t committed to protecting LGBTQ2 rights and abortion access, since they’re not enshrined in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Alberta judge Sheilah Martin was named to the Supreme Court instead, with Richard Wagner being elevated to chief justice.

Wilson-Raybould denied that there was a conflict between her and Trudeau over the appointment. Trudeau wouldn’t comment on the story when asked during a media availability in Winnipeg on Tuesday.

[READ MORE: Trudeau silent on reports he disagreed with Wilson-Raybould on SCC pick]

Joyal told the Canadian Press (CP) that he withdrew his application because of his wife’s health, and that he feared his candidacy was being used to “further an agenda unrelated to the appointment process.”

The Manitoba Bar Association responded to reports with a statement of their own, saying that suggestions that Joyal would give rulings that would undermine women’s rights or LGBTQ2 people is “entirely improper, and indeed false.”

Raitt is among opposition MPs who have claimed that the leaked information was orchestrated to undermine Wilson-Raybould’s credibility. In her letter to Giroux, she says the leaks qualify as “an egregious case of political interference and one that severely injures the independence of the judiciary.”

“Further, it casts a cloud over the appointments of Justice Sheilah Martin and Chief Justice Richard Wagner, both of whom were appointed instead of Judge Joyal, and harms the perceived objectivity of Judge Joyal’s past and future judgments,” Raitt said.

She asked that the commissioner “immediately” investigate the leaks, and report the findings to Canadians.

Giroux wrote back, saying he is “deeply concerned and troubled about the release to the media of any confidential information, be it accurate or not, that pertains to judicial appointments to the Supreme Court of Canada” and that the release of the information is “wholly inappropriate.”

However, he will not investigate the matter, due to it being outside of his mandate.

Upon the letter being made public, Raitt asked Attorney General David Lametti, in a tweet, if he’ll investigate the leaks.

Here is Giroux’s entire letter:

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